PMD Sky Team Pokepals - The Continuing Adventures
by chosenone1994
Summary: After saving the world from its paralysis, Leon and Blaze of Team Poképals are back in action as they move on to another exciting chapter of their exploration lives! Along with a new team having joined Wigglytuff's Guild recently and a new home, they will meet up with more new friends, and perhaps, uncover the biggest mystery behind the near-collapse of Temporal Tower!
1. Graduation Exam

**It's time to begin the post game story of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Sky starring Leon the piplup and Blaze the chimchar of Team Poképals. Once again, expect some dialogue changes and alterations to how the story may play out. However, the outcome will be pretty much be the same like the game itself. This also features a familiar heroic team from a past animated special, so I hope you enjoy reading this story!**

**Pokémon and the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series belong to Nintendo, Game Freak, and Spike Chunsoft.**

**Songs listed in the Music Recommendations sections belong to the respective owners.**

* * *

_Music recommended to listen to for these segments..._

_Good Luck With That! - Whoa! (Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon)_

_Exploration of Mystifying Forest - Mystifying Forest (PMD: Explorers games)_

_We're Trapped in the Dark... - Growing Anxiety (PMD: Explorers games)_

_It's All Of You?!, The Members Run Off!, It Had To Be You, Right? - It Is What It Is (Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon)_

_Weird Battle With The Members - The Gatekeepers (PMD: Explorers games)_

_The Spring Is Awakened! - Temple of Time (Zelda: Ocarina of Time)_

_You May Not Evolve... - In The Depths of the Pit (PMD: Explorers games)_

_Graduated from the Guild!, Celebrating in the Café - Graduation (Vitamin C), or Canon Rock (Jerry C.'s or Cole Rolland's version, whichever you prefer)_

* * *

_**Pokémon Mystery Dungeon – Explorers of Sky Post-Game Story **_

_**The Continuing Adventures of Team Poképals**_

_**Starring Team Poképals With Special Guests Team Go-Getters**_

_**Chapter 1**_

_**Graduation Exam**_

Several months after the combined heroism of both Leon the piplup and Blaze the chimchar, the leaders of Team Poképals who stopped the destruction of time, peace had returned to the world of pokémon. However, not everything got back to normal just yet. Some places still had unstable time in their areas, but overall, things were becoming better everywhere. As for Team Poképals, they were getting ready to get back to regular work at Wigglytuff's Guild, along with the recently arrived Team Go-Getters, which would be a friendly rival team, and would also start taking jobs to raise their exploration team rank. Both of the teams were currently at the diamond rank level.

One morning, Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters, wearing their respective signature items, along with the rest of the guild, attended the briefing outside Guildmaster Wigglytuff's chamber. Chatot had a special announcement to make to Leon and Blaze…

"Team Poképals," the parrot said, "both of you are close to graduation~!"

The leading duo, along with the rest of those attending the briefing, jumped up in surprise!

"**What?! Graduation?!**" Leon and Blaze both said.

"That's right! Graduation from the guild, that is~!" answered Chatot. "If you graduate, you can leave the guild, which also means that you'll be rid of the harsh daily training program as well. Of course, that will all depend on whether or not you pass the grad exam."

"Hey, hey, hey, Chatot!" Corphish said, as the parrot turned to him. "We've been around a lot longer than Leon and Blaze, so why do they get to take the exam before we do?!"

"They've already proven themselves to be worthy countless times, and after all, they saved the world~! It's only natural that they've earned the right to be tested." Chatot turned back to Team Poképals. "...And that's how it goes. We will commence the graduation exam later today, so I hope you're prepared for it~!"

"Loudred took it last year..." Sunflora began.

"...But hey, hey, he promptly failed!" Corphish finished.

Loudred appeared to get embarrassed of being reminded of his failure.

"G-g-get LOST!" he said.

"So what do we have to do for this graduation exam?" questioned Leon.

Wigglytuff stepped forward to explain.

"I want both of you to explore the depths of a wood named Mystifying Forest, where you should find a place called Luminous Spring there."

"Luminous Spring?" questioned Blaze.

"Yup~!" answered Wigglytuff. "It was where pokémon once went to evolve, but maybe because of the time troubles we had...no sunlight shines on the spring now. Nobody can evolve there anymore."

"We want you to travel to Luminous Spring," Chatot said, "and return with its treasure~! If you can bring it back to the guild, you'll pass the exam. You will then be recognized as a fully trained exploration team...and will be able to graduate from the guild with full honors~!"

"Bring back the treasure, huh?" Leon said. "That won't be a problem for Team Poképals!" He turned to Blaze. "Let's get 'er done, Blaze!"

"Yeah!" the chimchar responded.

They high-five each other.

"However," Wigglytuff said, as Team Poképals turned back to him, "both of you must watch out for one thing. You will find...a frighteningly strong enemy living there awaiting for your arrival. This foe is known as the grand master of all things bad."

Leon and Blaze were alarmed by the unexpected warning!

"**The grand master of all things bad?!**" they said.

"Yup. It's terribly wicked, and such a horrifying presence that no one ever wants to meet." Wigglytuff, for an odd reason, then cheerfully wished Team Poképals good luck. "Good luck with that~!"

Leon and Blaze was confused by his nonsupporting tone, as they could only sweat-drop. Chatot, meanwhile, dismissed the guild members. Team Go-Getters, however, stayed on the floor, while Team Poképals turned to each other for a quick chat, with Blaze a little panicked from the sudden warning of their enemy awaiting them.

"What'll we do, Leon?!" he said. "We're dealing with, of all things, the grand master of all things bad for the exam!"

"Don't worry, Blaze!" the piplup assured, as he turned to his right. "We'll go and ask Team Go-Getters over there for some advice!"

The duo went to the trio of Ian the squirtle, Charmander, and Chikorita to have a talk with them.

"Hey, guys!" Blaze said. "I'm kinda freaking out about this whole 'grand master of all things bad' situation here! I'm sure all of you heard it!"

"Yeah, we've heard it all!" Ian replied. "I'll give both of you guys some advice. We've faced many a terrifying enemy boss pokémon before, and I'm sure you did too! It just comes to bravery and tactics when it comes to battling strong foes!"

"He's right," Charmander said. "You just need to be brave like you always are and get through the terrifying thought of it, otherwise you'll be sorry and, more importantly, unprepared for the battle ahead!"

"Being the girl of our team here," Chikorita said, "I of course get scared easily in my mind, but thanks to my trusted teammates here, I know that we'll all have our backs when it comes to tough boss battles! Like both of 'em said right here, just go with the flow and everything will be fine!"

"Thanks, guys," Blaze said, now having calmed down from their advice. "I just need to be brave, like Leon has suggested to me many times before. That grand master guy shouldn't have to scare me!"

"That's right," Ian replied. "Remember, just stay calm and be brave so you'll win the battle! We gotta go now so that we can get to our first exploration jobs somewhere here in the Grass Continent. Hopefully you'll be able to graduate by the time both of us are done today! See ya later!"

The squirtle and his two teammates made their way up the ladder to the boards floor to pick out their first jobs on their first real day of the exploration business. Leon and Blaze, meanwhile turned to each other.

"See, Blaze?" the piplup said. "There's nothing to worry about! We've done this before, and we can do it again to graduate from the guild today and move into your cool home at Sharpedo Bluff! Not to mention, Team Go-Getters will have company later there!"

"You're right, Leon! Let's get to Treasure Town first and prepare for our trek into Mystifying Forest!"

Team Poképals went up the ladder and made their way out of the guild.

* * *

As Leon and Blaze made their way into the town's main square, they met up with a teddiursa and a ursaring, who were bear pokémon. They greeted them, and had a quick talk.

"What's going on, guys?" Leon began. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Yup," the teddiursa answered. "We're going to Mystifying Forest now."

"What?! Mystifying Forest?!" Blaze responded, jumping up in alarm. "Isn't it dangerous there?"

"Yeah, both of us were told that the grand master of all things bad was supposed to be there!" insisted Leon.

The cub and bear seemed confused by this revelation.

"The...grand master of all things bad?" questioned the ursaring. "We've never heard of anything like that! Are you sure you're not making a mistake?"

"We go play in Mystifying Forest often," the teddiursa said, "and have never seen or even heard of a grand master."

"Both of you must've misheard a bad rumor or something." The ursaring and his little teddiursa brother turned to each other. "Let's get going."

They waved bye to Team Poképals as they made their way out of the town. Leon and Blaze turned to each other afterwards.

"Something's not right about this..." the chimchar said.

"Yeah, it doesn't sound anything like what Wigglytuff said at all," replied Leon. "But still, it shouldn't bother us. We still gotta get ready around here so we can get to the Mystifying Forest!"

Blaze nodded in agreement, as he and Leon went around Treasure Town to organize their item supply in their team's bag, and later, they made the trip to the Mystifying Forest.

* * *

Team Poképals arrived at Mystifying Forest. The two leaders themselves only entered the dungeon, and were not allowed to recruit the pokémon here during their graduation exam. The dungeon itself had ten to fifteen floors of grass, poison, and bug-type pokémon, so both Leon and Blaze had to know their offensive and defensive types of advantages.

When they got near the clearing of the forest, they ran into a big circular patch of grass that was colored slightly different than the grass around it. Before they could examine it, a voice of the teddiursa was heard behind them.

"Hi, Leon and Blaze!"

They turned around to see him and his big ursaring brother arrive as well.

"Hi to you too, Teddiursa and Ursaring!" greeted Leon.

"Have both of you seen your grand master of all things bad yet?" questioned Ursaring.

Blaze seemed nervous by being asked this question.

"Uh...no! Nothing like that," he answered.

"See? It was nothing more than a rumor," insisted Ursaring.

"Are you still searching for that grand master, though?" questioned Teddiursa.

"Nope," answered Leon. "Definitely not. We're searching for Luminous Spring."

"It's just up ahead behind you!"

"Really?"

"Yup. We're on our way there right now. Wanna come with us?"

"Yeah, come with us if you want!" said Ursaring.

He and Teddiursa made their way around Team Poképals and the mysterious patch of grass to get to the spring. Leon and Blaze then turned to each other.

"What are we waiting for, Leon?" the chimchar said. "Let's catch up with 'em!"

The two attempted to follow Teddiursa and Ursaring, but they stepped onto the patch of grass below them. It fell into the hole below, while Leon and Blaze looked down, then at each other for a quick moment!

"**Uh...oh!**" they could only say.

They then fell into the hole as they screamed! After a few seconds, they landed on their stomachs with a thump. Leon and Blaze groaned in a little bit of pain, but luckily, they didn't appear to be harmed too much, as they got up with very little trouble.

"Man, that was unexpected!" the piplup exclaimed.

"At least it wasn't too far down," Blaze replied, "otherwise, we'd be in a world of hurt!"

They had a little laugh, then they looked around the area around them.

"This must be some sorta pitfall trap," Leon said.

"Yeah, it has to be!" replied Blaze.

All of a sudden, the room was getting dark! They looked up to the hole above them!

"The opening's closing!" the piplup exclaimed.

The hole closed up, leaving the area completely dark.

"Ahhh!" Blaze screamed. "It's pitch black in here! I can't see anything!"

"We might be trapped here after all!" Leon replied.

Suddenly, an evil laugh sounded within the room!

"What the…" the piplup began. "Someone's here!"

He directed his attention to the unknown voice.

"Whoever you are, come out and show yourself, coward!"

"Welcome...to the world of darkness," the deep male voice said. He introduced himself… "I am the grand master of all things bad."

"**What?!**" Team Poképals exclaimed in alarm.

"Y-you're the g-g-g-grand master of all things bad?!" questioned a nervous Blaze.

"Yeah! Not only the grand master, but more of us besides~!" another voice said.

More voices followed, which sounded oddly familiar to the duo…

"A BUNCH of us minions of the grand master are here!"

"Even though you can't see us in the dark...you're completely surrounded!"

The grand master evilly laughed for a few moments, before he spoke again.

"Coming to our lair is the last mistake you will ever make. You're not getting outta here alive. Prepare to meet your..."

Suddenly, the hole at the top of the room opened up, returning light to the area. Team Poképals was then able to see who the grand master and his minions were, and they were bewildered at who they actually were! It was Wigglytuff and the guild members!

"What the heck?!" Leon exclaimed. "Wigglytuff, what're you doing here?!"

"...And what about _you _guys?!" Blaze said, referring to the guild members. "I can't believe what I'm seeing here! What in the world is going on?!"

The members themselves panicked a bit, as Chatot looked up to the hole.

"H-hey, Bidoof!" he said. "Why did ya take the cover off?!"

"Oops!" Bidoof replied. "I thought it'd be too dark down there for y'all, so I opened it up! M-maybe I shouldn't have done so! I was just trying to help out with the grad exam, that's all! It's all so new to me, so I don't have the foggiest idea about what I should be doin'..."

Chatot could only sweat-drop and grunt in frustration.

"What a farce!" he said.

Leon and Blaze turned their attention to Wigglytuff.

"Okay...'grand master' Wigglytuff," the piplup said. "_Please _tell us this isn't some kinda joke here!"

Everyone else turned to the balloon pokémon, as he pretended to be confused.

"Who's...Wigglytuff?"

"C'mon, knock it off already!" Leon replied with a hint of annoyance on his face.

"I _am _the grand master," insisted Wigglytuff. "I know nothing of your so-called Wigglytuff."

"Oh boy, here we go now..." Blaze said.

Chatot flapped his wings, going along with the act of playing minion.

"Uh...that's right! We're his minions also!"

The other guild members decided to follow suit.

"Oh my gosh, that's so right! I don't know any pokémon named Sunflora!"

"Hey, hey, hey!"

Team Poképals could only sweat-drop in embarrassment.

"Man alive!" Leon exclaimed. "Can this get any more weird?!"

"Like I said before..." the "grand master" said, "...coming to our lair is the last mistake you will ever make. You're not getting outta here alive."

He raised his arms in a menacing but playful matter.

"Prepare to meet your doom at the hands of the grand master of all things bad!"

He jumped up and let out his battle cry.

"YOOM...TAH!"

Wigglytuff and the guild members got into their battle stance.

"Oh well...looks like we'll just have to play along with 'em, pal!" Leon said, as he and Blaze got into their own stances.

"We still gotta graduate from the guild, after all!" the chimchar replied. "Let's do this!"

The unusual and weird battle between Team Poképals and the guild had begun!

* * *

Leon and Blaze were surrounded by nine of their opponents, all of which of course _were _in fact from the guild, although they continued to deny it. The battle layout was similar to a monster house in which the duo caught themselves in while adventuring in other dungeons, meaning that multiple pokémon would jump in and ambush them. Team Poképals would have to stay calm and focused for this battle like those situations so that they could get one step closer to passing the graduation exam. They did so by utilizing the items that they had in their team's Treasure Bag.

When all of the foes but Wigglytuff were defeated, Leon and Blaze turned their attention to him next. They tried attacking him to knock him out last, but his speed increased when he was running low on energy.

"Man, he's fast!" Leon said.

"Wait, Leon!" Blaze replied, as he got an idea. "I've got something in our bag that could distract him!"

He pulled out a Perfect Apple, an apple that was abnormally large than any of its other kind, and was the guildmaster's favorite food to eat, and to play with at times. Blaze threw it towards Wigglytuff and he caught it.

"Oh! Perfect Apple~!"

He put it on his head and started playing with it. Leon started to wonder where Blaze had gotten that apple, but ignored it. Meanwhile, unknown to Wigglytuff, Team Poképals had begun to charge up their double finish technique to end the battle.

"Sorry, Wigglytuff," Leon said, "but the game's over now!"

He and Blaze shouted out their moves.

"**Hydro Pump!**"

"**Flamethrower!**"

The water and fire beams shot out of their mouths and made contact with Wigglytuff, sending him back to the wall behind him! His back landed on the wall with a loud thud, then after a few moments, he slid down to the surface and collapsed onto his belly with his eyes swirling, indicating his defeat. The Perfect Apple, meanwhile, sat beside him and was burnt to a crisp from Blaze's Flamethrower move.

Team Poképals had finally won the strange battle, as Leon and Blaze turned to each other to congratulate themselves.

"All right, we did it!" Blaze exclaimed.

"Awesome!" Leon replied.

They jumped up in the air to give each other a high five. After they came down, they turned to see a dazed Wigglytuff get up slowly, as he groaned in pain.

"Owwww...they got me good..." He shook it off and looked up to the opening. "Everybody, let's get outta here!"

Wigglytuff and the guild members made a beeline out of the pitfall trap, with Team Poképals the last ones to climb out of it. They were still confused by the whole situation.

"Man, that was so weird," Leon commented.

"Yeah," Blaze replied, "I still have no idea what that was all about, exactly..."

"At least it's over and done with. Let's get ourselves to Luminous Spring and get that treasure!"

They turned to where the spring was and headed there.

* * *

After running for a few moments, Team Poképals arrived to see both Teddiursa and Ursaring examining a little yellow box that was on the ground near the Luminous Spring itself. They greeted the cub and the bear.

"**Hi again, Teddiursa and Ursaring!**"

"It's you, guys!" Ursaring said, as he and Teddiursa turned to them. "I thought both of you were tagging along right behind us! What happened back there?"

"Uh...something held us up," replied an embarrassed Blaze. He shook it off and continued. "Anyway, what's going on?"

"We found this treasure box here." Ursaring turned to the box.

"This wasn't here before," insisted Teddiursa. "I wanted to open it, but I felt scared to do so."

Ursaring turned back to Leon and Blaze.

"Yeah, it could be a booby trap or something. We decided to leave it be for now."

"That's not a problem for us!" said Blaze. "We can open it, then! You see, we got sent here for the guild's graduation exam, and were told to bring back the treasure from here."

"That's it!" Ursaring replied. "That box must have something to do with your exam. Go ahead, open it for yourselves!"

Blaze nodded, then he and Leon turned to each other.

"Can I get you to do this, Leon?" questioned the chimchar.

"Of course!" answered the piplup. "I'll get my Dimensional Scream ability to activate itself so I can see whether the box is safe or not!"

He turned to the box and made his way toward it. Upon touching it, the dizzying sensation came back to his head.

_Okay...here goes nothing…_

The vision began.

* * *

_Leon could see Wigglytuff going to the same spot he and Blaze were currently at, as the guildmaster put the box down on the ground. He turned around and made his way out of the forest._

_The vision then came to an end._

* * *

Leon had a thought to himself about the recent vision he had.

_It was the guildmaster himself that put this treasure here. I know what must be inside this treasure box, then…_

He opened the box up, and a Perfect Apple came out of it.

"It's a Perfect Apple!" Leon said out loud. "It's the treasure of Luminous Spring! It must suit Wigglytuff, I guess."

Blaze picked it up and put it in his team's bag, then waves of energy emitted from the spring itself! Everyone jumped up in surprise.

"W-what was that?!" the chimchar exclaimed.

He and the others turned to the Luminous Spring as a vertical beam of light shone in the center of it, indicating that light had indeed returned to the spring.

"Look at that spring!"

"Light...is shining down on it!" Ursaring commented.

"That must mean…!" Teddiursa said. "Luminous Spring must have regained its power!"

The four pokémon went toward the spring itself and into its water to get a closer look. When they got close enough, they stopped to a sound of a voice.

"Those that seek awakening..."

"Ahhh! Who said that?!" exclaimed Blaze.

"The resumption of time...has brought light here again. If you seek evolution, please step forward."

"I knew it!" said Teddiursa. He and Ursaring turned to each other. "I knew that Luminous Spring would be revived!"

"Good for you, Teddiursa! I know you've been looking forward to evolution for a long time!"

"Yup!"

Blaze seemed puzzled by something said in their discussion.

"Evolution?"

The three turned to him, as he realized something.

"Wait, I got it! Wigglytuff mentioned this Luminous Spring before! He said it was where pokémon once went to evolve. When the time troubles occurred however, no sunlight shone on the spring, meaning that nothing could evolve there. But now, with the light returning, maybe evolution is possible again!"

"I've got a question, though," Leon said. "What _is _evolution?"

"Oh, you don't know what it is," Ursaring replied, as he and the others turned to the piplup "and what it means to evolve?"

"Some kinds of pokémon can evolve if specific conditions are first met," explained Teddiursa. "When a pokémon evolves, his, her, or its appearance changes, sometimes dramatically."

"**Really?!**" exclaimed Team Poképals. "**Your appearance changes?!**"

"That's right," answered Ursaring, "and it may not just be how you look that changes, either. When you evolve, sometimes your form and abilities can even change. Sounds cool, right?"

"**Really?!**" Leon and Blaze said, with their eyes sparkling at the prospect.

"Yup!" insisted Teddiursa. "I've always wanted to get stronger, so I've been hoping to evolve for a long time. I'm gonna try it out now!"

He turned around to the spring and went into the shining light. He turned back to the gang, and the voice above spoke out.

"Those that seek awakening...this is Luminous Spring. Do you wish to evolve?"

"Yes, please!" answered Teddiursa.

"Do you need an item to do so?"

"Nope!"

"So be it...seeker of awakening. Let us begin."

Teddiursa's body began to shine a bright white, as it grew in size and shape. After a couple of flashes of light, he was completely transformed into a ursaring, looking just the same as his big brother!

"Wow!" exclaimed Blaze. "Teddiursa, you look just like your big brother Ursaring now!"

"Yay!"

He went out of the light, going to his now identical brother.

"Hey, big brother! I've evolved!"

"Congrats! All the leveling up you went through finally paid off!" The other ursaring got nervous of having his little brother looking completely similar to him now. "Now it's hard to tell us apart...but anyway, good for you!"

Team Poképals turned to each other.

"We should try evolving too, Blaze!" suggested Leon, as the two ursaring brothers turned to him and the chimchar.

"Yeah!" responded Blaze. "I'll go first."

The two bears moved aside to let the chimchar go into the shining light. The company turned to him, as the voice from above spoke out once more.

"Those that seek awakening...this is Luminous Spring. Do you wish to evolve?"

"Yup! This will be exciting!"

"Do you need an item to do so?"

"An item?" Blaze seemed unsure about whether needing one or not. "I don't know...ummmm…no. No item for me."

"So be it...seeker of awakening. Let us begin."

The chimchar waited for a few moments for his evolution to take effect. However, nothing had happened.

"...No. Impossible...you may not evolve," the voice said.

Blaze, along with the other pokémon, were alarmed by this.

"What?! Why not?!" demanded the chimchar. "Why can't I evolve? Is it maybe because I haven't met my requirements for evolving?"

"No," insisted the voice, "that is not it… It is not merely a problem of not meeting requirements..."

"Then...why?" Blaze turned to one particular ursaring. "Teddiursa there was able to evolve," he turned back to the light, "so why can't _I_ evolve?"

"Why can you not evolve? It may be influenced by a distortion in the fabric of space..."

"Distortion...in the fabric of space?"

"Why that should be, I do not know...but your presence...is somehow related to the distortion of space itself. As a result of that, you cannot evolve..."

The voice paused for a moment.

"No. It is not only you… There is yet another… The one behind you...is also forbidden his evolution."

Blaze and the two ursaring turned to the piplup.

"What?! Me too?!" exclaimed Leon in alarm.

"That is all that I can tell..." the voice continued. "This is Luminous Spring. If you seek a new evolution, then you shall return..."

The light from the spring then no longer shone on it. Leon and Blaze turned to each other, understandably stunned at how they were not able to evolve.

"Man, this stings..." the piplup commented with a sad look on his face. "Not only can you not evolve, Blaze, I can't, either..."

"I don't understand why we can't evolve, though!" the chimchar replied with a little hint of annoyance.

"Well, nothing we can do about it for now, Blaze!" Leon had a smile on his beak, forgetting about the disappointment. "We have the Perfect Apple that was in the treasure box, so we should get back to the guild with it!"

"You're right, Leon!" The chimchar also managed a smile. "Let's get back home!"

All four of the pokémon made their way out of Mystifying Forest.

* * *

Later on, Team Poképals had arrived back inside Wigglytuff's Guild. The members, including Team Go-Getters, surrounded the graduating duo to congratulate them on passing the exam. They threw confetti at them, as they clapped for their success. Leon and Blaze, however, felt confused by today's unusual events.

"How come both of you are not celebrating?" questioned Wigglytuff. "Aren't you happy?"

"Well, yes, we're happy," insisted an unsure Blaze. "But it hasn't really registered yet..."

"Yeah, I don't think we've accomplished anything _that _special," said Leon.

Wigglytuff jumped up in alarm.

"That's not true at all!" he insisted. "Don't you understand that what both of you did was incredible? You went and brought back a fantastic treasure in a Perfect Apple! Even better than that, though...you defeated that horrifying grand master of all things bad, didn't ya?!"

"That's what we don't understand, though!" replied Leon. "Wigglytuff, how could you know that we defeated the grand master of all things bad?"

"Uhhhh...we heard it somewhere?"

"Besides that...that bad grand master...had to be _you_, Wigglytuff! Right?"

The guildmaster once again pretended to have no knowledge that he played the grand master, while Team Go-Getters seemed surprised by the revelation.

"**What?!**" the trio said.

Meanwhile, Wigglytuff, along with the members, continued to pretend denying the fact to no end.

"I...don't know..." he insisted. "I don't know what you're talking about! G-grand master of all things bad?"

Chatot flapped his wings in alarm, as Leon and Blaze turned to him.

"Me too! I know nothing about the grand master's minions! What are they?"

The guild members confessed.

"Hey, hey, me too!"

"Eek! I don't know any minions!"

They laughed in embarrassment. Team Go-Getters, though still confused, couldn't help but laugh also.

"Guys...what's going on?" questioned a bewildered Leon.

Everyone stopped laughing as Chatot flapped his wings again, wearing a wide smile on his face as he spoke again.

"Never mind that! Both of you have now officially graduated from the guild~! From now on, you will no longer be bound by the guild's strict regulations. You'll be free to operate as an exploration team totally on your own~!"

Team Poképals finally saw the light of the benefit, as they got excited.

"**Awesome!**" they both exclaimed.

"Does that mean from now on," Blaze began to question, "that we get to keep all the reward poké money from our jobs that we take, not having to share with the guild anymore?"

"Nope," answered Chatot. "Unfortunately for you, that aspect doesn't change at all. As before, you will _still _have to give most of that money to us."

"**What?!**" exclaimed Leon and Blaze. "**Why?!**"

"Even though both of you graduated from the guild, it _still _means that you're affiliated with us. You, Team Poképals, can only continue operating because of this guild, so you'll need to accept that as part of being an exploration team~!"

"**Awww man!**"

"I guess that means nothing has changed from before..." said Leon.

The guild members each insisted about the positive of graduation, as Team Poképals turned to one of each that spoke.

"Eek! You don't understand! Graduating from the guild is extraordinary!"

"That's right! I should know! Even I couldn't pass the grad exam!"

Team Go-Getters also had their say.

"**You also get to move into Sharpedo Bluff to live with us!**"

"Anyway," Wigglytuff announced, as Leon and Blaze turned to him, "both of you have passed the exam with flying colors~! I hope you'll keep up your great work as explorers~!"

The members each congratulated Team Poképals on their graduation. They finally got emotional, as Leon and Blaze had tears in their eyes while they still smiled.

"G-guys...thank you so much for everything!" said Leon.

Everyone threw more confetti at the duo as they cheered for them.

"**HOORAY FOR TEAM POKÈPALS!**"

Not only were Leon and Blaze emotional at this celebration, they were also sad at the fact that yesterday was their last night at staying within the guild. Although they were no longer able to stay at their old beds here, they would surely enjoy their new base of operations at Sharpedo Bluff. As a special sendoff present, they were given a whopping 10,000 poké as a startup bonus for their new base. Being the kind team that they were, they also decided to give half of the money to Team Go-Getters.

* * *

The celebrations kept going on into Spinda's Café later. Most of the town got word of the heroic Team Poképals graduating from the guild, so they attended their party over there and gave them congratulatory letters and gifts. They had drinks made from fruit and had a special meal later on, while a complimentary concert had played by a visiting pokémon band who also got invitations.

Sunset had arrived once the party was over, as Team Poképals arrived at their new base of operations and home at Sharpedo Bluff. Team Go-Getters was also there, excited about them living there as well. They already had two straw beds out for both Leon and Blaze to sleep on near them.

"This is so awesome!" exclaimed Ian. "Both of you guys now get to live with us here!"

"Yeah!" replied Leon. "Although we will miss our old home at the guild, we will all surely enjoy living in this cool bluff!"

"It's an exciting new chapter for us here, that's for sure!" said Blaze.

"We'll have great nights spending time and fun with each other living here!" said Charmander.

As excited as everyone was, they all yawned together, feeling worn out from the party they had from the café.

"But right now," Chikorita said, "we're getting sleepy. We'll have time tomorrow night to do all that fun stuff. We gotta get some rest so we'll all feel refreshed by the morning."

"Let's give our all like we always do by then, guys!" responded Leon.

Everyone said good night as they headed into their respective beds to sleep for tonight.

This was indeed the start of a great new chapter in their already amazing exploration lives.


	2. Reaching for the Sky

_**Chapter 2**_

_**Reaching for the Sky**_

A few days after Team Poképals' graduation from Wigglytuff's Guild, and becoming a fully recognized exploration team, Leon and Blaze, along with Team Go-Getters, saw an octillery and mr. mime converging with each other near the entrance to Spinda's Café. They were talking about an announcement being made in there, so they went in, along with the two teams to find out what it was. A crowd already gathered there to listen to what Spinda, the owner of the café, would announce to them. He revealed a new location called Sky Peak, and had asked the mr. mime there for an explanation of the place. The mime pokémon said that it was a very tall mountain located to the east of Treasure Town that almost reached beyond the sky itself. It was, however, surrounded by an impassable mountain range, meaning the route there had been lost, and leaving the peak to not be fully explored as of yet.

Spinda then announced that thanks to Project P, they had successfully reclaimed the path to Sky Peak just two days ago. Not only that, another discovery had been made of the base of the mountain, as a small hidden village was also found. That village was said to hold very rare pokémon named shaymin living there. Spinda could not know much about the pokémon living there however, but as far as he knew, they were said to be incredible adorable. He also told the crowd that on the outskirts of the recently named Shaymin Village, Project P also found a mountain path leading to the summit of the Sky Peak, which held an incredible treasure that would await adventurers upon their arrival. Feeling excited about the news made today at the café, both Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters went to town first to prepare for the exploration, before they went to the Shaymin Village near Sky Peak.

* * *

When the two teams arrived, they saw a handful of pokémon already there, including the several shaymin that were mentioned within the announcement back at the café. The shaymin were a hedgehog-like gratitude pokémon that had grass-like fur on top of them, white bodies, and two fuchsia-colored flowers on their heads, with one on each side. One shaymin approached the teams and greeted them.

"Welcome to the Shaymin Village! It's so nice to meet you here! My name is Shaymin, and I live here in this village." He laughed a little bit before he continued on. "Then again...all the residents here are shaymin, which makes it hard to tell us apart, doesn't it?"

The two teams couldn't help but laugh at his last sentence.

"Nice to meet you too, Shaymin!" replied Leon. "We're Team Poképals!"

"And we're Team Go-Getters!" Ian said next.

"Did both of you teams come here to climb Sky Peak too?" questioned Shaymin.

"**Yeah!**" the five pokémon exclaimed.

"I take it that you know this mountain well, right?" questioned Leon.

"That's right," answered Shaymin. "We've lived here for a very long time, and we're here to guide travelers up the mountain. We haven't actually done that however in a long time, because of the earthquake that happened here some time ago that destroyed the mountain path that led to here. That prevented the explorers from outside getting here very easily, and thus, they stopped coming. We were very surprised when the survey team walked into our little village."

"I see, then," replied Blaze. "That must explain why this place has only been talked about in legends, and that nobody had come to visit."

"Speaking of legends," Leon inserted, "is it true that there's an incredible treasure hidden here, rivaling all other treasures?"

Shaymin laughed in agreement.

"What do you think?" he said. "Our job here is not limited to simply act as your guides, but in the end, those climbing the mountain must discover some things for themselves. We are merely assigned to assist in those discoveries."

"I'm not sure I fully understand this," Ian replied, "but I would have to think that there's a little more to it than that."

"That's right!" answered Shaymin. "By the way, now that we've discussed all this...I could be your guide if you're interested. What do you think? For some reason, while talking to both of you teams, I've begun to really want to climb the mountain with you."

"Wow! That's a nice offer!" replied an excited Blaze. "I was thinking the same thing!"

Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters turned to each other.

"Since you guys only have one more pokémon available for your exploration here," Ian suggested, "we'll let Shaymin be your guide."

"That's a great idea!" said Leon. "We'll let him join our team for now so that he can guide us!"

The two teams turned back to the gratitude pokémon.

"Shaymin, you're welcome to join us, Team Poképals, on our trek up the mountain!" the piplup proclaimed.

"Yay!" Shaymin excitedly replied. "All right, then! Let's all start making our way to the summit, then! We'll have many station clearings up ahead along the way that we can rest on, so don't be afraid to take a break when you need to! Let's get going!"

Team Poképals, along with Shaymin, were the first group of pokémon to enter Sky Peak's dungeon leading to the summit itself. Team Go-Getters later followed.

* * *

The dungeon of Sky Peak would hold several floors of various type pokémon that both of the teams would have to deal with. All kinds of type match-ups would have to be considered and memorized in order to get through each floor without too much trouble.

* * *

When the six pokémon got to the 2nd station clearing, they were amazed that various supplies were set up within the area itself. A driftblim, which was a blimp pokémon, rested nearby. Meanwhile, a breloom, a mushroom grass/fighting-type pokémon, introduced himself and his accomplices, a mawile and machoke, to the group.

"Hey there! We're Team Frontier, the survey team from Project P! As you can see, this huge, tall mountain prevents any rescue missions from being performed, so we've built a base here at the 2nd station clearing for that matter. Not only is a Kangaskhan Rock here to resupply your teams for further exploration of the mountain, but just in case you're looking for a quick way up or down, a Drifblim Gondola Service is just the thing you're looking for here! All of these services are operating for free thanks in large part of Project P's Recycle Shop efforts and contributions! Please don't be afraid to use 'em!"

Breloom and his team moved aside, while Shaymin turned back to Leon, Ian, and the others behind him.

"That's wonderful!" the gratitude pokémon exclaimed. "That's the spirit of cooperation at its very best! This mountain just got more beautiful to explore! Go ahead and restock your item supply if you'd like!"

Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters went to the Kangaskhan Rock to resupply their inventories before they continued up toward Sky Peak.

* * *

For the next few floors of the mountain's dungeon, the two teams found and picked up unique boxes that had textures of the clouds and blue skies on them. When they got to the 3rd station clearing, Shaymin explained that those boxes were called Sky Gifts. A Sky Gift was a special kind of treasure that could only be found within Sky Peak, and that it could only function properly when it was given to other pokémon. The contents within that Sky Gift were unknown, but those that found one and tried to open it themselves would not receive anything. The two teams understood this, and they knew that they had to be aware of how to use the Sky Gift properly. They all went on ahead after the explanation.

* * *

When everyone got to the fourth station clearing, Team Frontier had set up another base for their resupplying and transportation services. When they tried to rest up, Octillery came towards them shouting for help. She came to a stop in front of everybody, and attempted to catch her breath, as Mawile went towards her.

"What's wrong?" questioned Mawile.

"A sneasel explorer's getting picked on by this strange group near the fifth station clearing!" answered a worried Octillery. "I'm not much help by myself, so please, someone go and help that poor guy!"

Machoke turned to his team.

"All right, guys! Let's move out!"

Team Frontier followed him out of the clearing and up towards the mountain. Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters then turned to each other in concern.

"That doesn't sound good..." Leon said.

"Yeah!" Ian replied. "We should resupply ourselves quickly and then we'll go and save that sneasel!"

They all agreed and went to the Kangaskhan Rock nearby to restock their item supply, before heading further up the mountain.

* * *

When the three teams got to the fifth station clearing, they saw a group of five carnivine, which were bug catcher grass-type pokémon, surrounding a sneasel, a sharp claw dark/ice-type pokémon. Shaymin went up front to access the situation.

"Aha! I knew it!" he exclaimed.

"Did you come here to help us?" one carnivine assumed.

"No way!" announced Mawile. "Only cowards like you would gang up on one pokémon like Sneasel! We're Team Frontier, and we'll be your opponents!"

The carnivine then went toward the group, as Sneasel ran away up towards the mountain to safety. Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters also stepped forward to join beside Team Frontier.

"**We'll also be the ones you'll need to beat!**" the other members announced. "**Prepare yourselves!**"

Everybody got into their battle stances and got ready to battle! It was nine against five!

* * *

Thanks to the combined efforts of the three teams, they were able to wear down the outnumbered carnivine in under two minutes.

Just as they were about to take their enemies down, Shaymin suddenly stepped into the middle to stop their battle!

"**Everyone, stop!**" he announced.

"**WHAT?!**" they said.

Shaymin turned to the carnivine, as one of them recognized him.

"Oh, it's a shaymin from the village! It's been a while!"

"We owe you..." Shaymin replied, as he suddenly got angry. "You haven't changed a bit, guys! We've asked you before to stop bothering the explorers, haven't we?!"

"Yeah, but that Sneasel started it! We found some treasure earlier, and he snatched it right out from under our noses!"

Another carnivine searched for Sneasel, but he was nowhere to be found.

"Hey! Where did he go?!"

"That rotten little…! He ran off in the confusion!"

Everyone was shocked that Sneasel had been bad all this time!

"We all thought you carnivine were the bad guys!" Mawile exclaimed.

Shaymin turned back to the teams behind him.

"Well, you can't exactly say they're the good guys, either..." he said.

"Hey!" exclaimed one carnivine. "We haven't seen you in so long, Shaymin, and this is how you treat us?!"

The gratitude pokémon turned back to the carnivine, as one more spoke up.

"Meh, it's fine. Since it _is _Shaymin, we'll let it go. The decision to climb the mountain is your own, but I don't like to let pokémon just do as they please. See ya!"

The five carnivine left the area, as Shaymin turned back to the teams once more.

"Man, what was _that _about?" questioned a confused Leon.

"The carnivine have marked this as their territory," Shaymin explained, "so despite them being very nice, they can be a little rough when they speak..."

"We're also to blame here," said Mawile with a look of regret. "Rather than listening to 'em, we just jumped straight into a fight..."

"That's why you shouldn't just judge by appearances," suggested Breloom.

"...Sorry!" Machoke said.

"It's okay!" Shaymin replied. "Let's just put all of this craziness behind us and get back to climbing!"

"**YEAH!**" everybody cheered.

They finally went further up Sky Peak.

* * *

After a few more floors of exploration, the teams made it to the sixth station clearing, where Team Frontier managed to set up one more base there. They told Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters that from there on out, the rest of the mountain upwards would be covered in snow, meaning that no more bases could be set up afterwards. Heeding this warning, the two teams went to the nearby Kangaskhan Rock to resupply their items, while Team Frontier went on ahead. Later, the two teams made their way out of the clearing and once more up the peak.

When Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters, along with their guide Shaymin, arrived at the seventh station clearing, they saw Team Frontier surrounding Sneasel who was unconscious. They went over to them to see what was wrong…

"What happened to Sneasel here?!" questioned a worried Shaymin.

"I don't know," insisted Breloom. "But what we _do _know, was that he lost consciousness before we got here. We're not sure if it's because of the cold or if he ran out of items, but this _is _a dangerous situation he's got himself in right now."

"This isn't good at all!" Shaymin had a determined look on his face now. "I'll have to go and get help!"

"Where can you find it, though?" questioned Mawile. "This mountain is filled with wild pokémon defending their territory here! Nobody else!"

"I've been up this mountain before," Shaymin insisted, "and I found a rescue expert at the eighth station clearing. We don't call him for the little things, but emergencies are different. Me and the two teams that I'm guiding here will go forward, while you, Team Frontier, will keep an eye on Sneasel for us. Is that understood?"

The three pokémon nodded.

"Got it!" Mawile responded. "We're counting on you!"

Leon and Ian, leaders of their own teams, turned to each other.

"Let's hurry and find that rescue expert!" the piplup said to the squirtle.

"Yeah, let's go!"

Shaymin and the two teams made their way ahead to the eighth station clearing.

* * *

After a few more floors of the mountain path's dungeon, everybody arrived at the eighth station clearing. The room of the clearing itself had a grassy surface, with a natural spring water, supplies, a hay bed, and a campfire lit up to keep the room warm. It was where an ampharos, a yellow sheep-like electric-type pokémon saw them coming quickly. He noticed that they were out of breath and started talking to them.

"Whoa! What seems to be the rush here?" The ampharos noticed Shaymin, and spoke to him. "Oh, it's you, Shaymin! You're from the village below! It's been such a long time since we talked to each other! How have you been?"

"No time for talking, Ampharos!" responded the gratitude pokémon. "We're in a hurry!"

"Did something happen?"

"Yes! Someone's down at the seventh station clearing!"

"Ah...I see. I thought I would get the opportunity to chat with my first guests in a long time, but that'll have to wait, I suppose. Okay then, I'll get to the seventh station clearing at once! Wait for me here!"

"We're counting on you!"

Ampharos made his way to the seventh station clearing below his home to go and get Sneasel.

* * *

After a few moments, Ampharos, Sneasel, and Team Frontier had all arrived at the eighth station clearing, Everyone surrounded Sneasel, as he woke up and grunted in pain.

"Hey!" Leon exclaimed. "He's awake now!"

"Sneasel! It's good to see that you're back with us!" Shaymin said.

"Uh...where am I?" questioned the sharp claw pokémon.

"You had collapsed at the seventh station clearing," Mawile replied.

"If Ampharos here hadn't carried you to his bed right here," Breloom said, "things would seriously have not gone well for you."

Sneasel turned to the yellow electric-type pokémon.

"You...did that for me?"

"It wasn't just me," Ampharos insisted, "everyone else here came to your rescue."

"I see..."

Sneasel tried to get up off the bed, but he lay back down once he felt pain.

"Don't push yourself, Sneasel!" demanded Shaymin. "You must take it easy for now and rest."

"...Fine."

Ampharos turned to the three teams.

"All of you may go on ahead through the rest of the mountain pass. I'll take care of Sneasel myself. The summit shouldn't be far from here, so go on and experience the breathtaking view for yourselves when you get there!"

"B-but..." Mawile began, but she was cut off by Ampharos.

"Don't worry!" he insisted. "Besides, there isn't anything more to accomplish here by staying put. I can handle this on my own. Please, go on ahead."

"Are you sure?" questioned Breloom.

Ampharos gave him and the others a look of reassurance.

"Yeah, he's right, guys." Leon said, as he turned to everybody else. "We'll just have to leave Sneasel in his care for now."

"We still have a sight to see today!" insisted Ian. "Let's go to the summit! We're almost there!"

Team Frontier went ahead of Team Poképals, Team Go-Getters, and Shaymin, before they too followed shortly afterwards.

* * *

When everyone arrived at the summit of Sky Peak after around ten more floors of the dungeon, they could hardly believe at how the area looked. It was supposed to be beautiful, but instead, it was littered with purple muck, gas, and slime all around the summit.

"What the...isn't this the summit?" Leon commented.

"I think it is," Ian replied, "but it isn't supposed to look like _this_!"

"Phew...what's that smell?" Blaze said.

"It's coming from that purple stuff right there!" answered Charmander.

"Ewww...gross!" said Chikorita.

"This is terrible..." said Shaymin. "All of this happened while I was away for so long..."

A voice suddenly came from within the area!

"Icky, sticky...grimy, slimy… We loooove dirt and slime…"

All of a sudden, several grimer and muk, who were purple slimy poison-type pokémon, surrounded the three teams!

"Ahhh!" shrieked Blaze. "Who are those pokémon?!"

"It's a group of grimer and muk!" answered Shaymin. He directed his attention to the purple pokémon. "All of you should know that this isn't your home… Please, go back to where you belong!"

"No, noooo," replied a grimer.

"Lies," said another.

"We drive away cleanliness!" a muk bellowed.

The teams got into their battle stances as they got ready to face the defiant slimy pokémon.

"Looks like we've got no choice but to make 'em come to their senses!" suggested Leon.

"Okay, guys!" said Ian. "Let's get it on!"

"**YEAH!**" everybody cheered.

And just like that, the battle to reclaim the summit began!

* * *

It was nine exploring pokémon versus eight purple slimy pokémon. The teams would need a handful of Pecha Berries in their bags for times when one team member would get poisoned by a grimer or muk's moves or stench. Team Go-Getters, however, needed none of those berries thanks to themselves wearing Pecha Scarfs, so they had a few spare Pecha Berries in their bag, giving them to Team Poképals, Team Frontier, and Shaymin, when they were in trouble.

After a few minutes, the teams managed to defeat the grimer and muk, as they staggered backwards, groaning in pain.

"You're soooo strong!" one grimer said.

"Have all of you come to your senses yet?" questioned Shaymin.

The poison-type pokémon stood up straight, as they were confused by the question. Later, they realized who the gratitude pokémon was.

"Oh, it's you, Shaymin!" exclaimed a grimer.

"What happened while I was away for so long? You know that this isn't your home, right?"

The grimer and muk were alarmed.

"Huh?! This is soooo our home..." one of them said. "See? It's all dirty and grimy..."

"Dirty and grimy, huh?" replied Shaymin. He then realized something, as he smiled sympathetically. "I see… Nobody's come here for so long...so I have to say sorry to all of you, grimer and muk. Like I said before, this _is _the mountain summit that you're on right now."

"Huh?! The summit?! It can't be!"

"I think it fell into disrepair because nobody visited here for a long time...but we know we can't leave the summit in this condition. Will all of you _please _return to your rightful homes? I'm begging you!"

"Wh-what? Is this the summit? I didn't notice! Sorry for the trouble, Shaymin. We'll go home now."

"Thanks for understanding! I'll come visit all of you with a token of thanks later! Bye!"

"Bye-byyyye!"

The grimer and muk slithered their way out of the summit. Shaymin looked around the area.

"Now where were we..." he said. "We have to clean this place up now and restore it."

"Restore it?" said Mawile. "How could we possibly-"

"We shaymin have a special power to clean up the land by absorbing dirt and things, yet cleaning up this mess is no small task..." Shaymin turned to the teams, then he bent down and energy began to emit from his green fur. "Okay, guys! Get down quickly!"

The teams all ducked for cover as Shaymin absorbed the purple mess around the summit. His green fur turned purple from the absorption, then after a few moments, a blinding light emanated from his fur!

Seconds later, they opened their eyes as they got up to see a majestic sight of fuchsia-colored flowers laying on the now green grass. The sky was also visible, with the sun shining down on them. Needless to say, they were all amazed by the sight.

"This...is...**awesome!**" Leon exclaimed. "It's absolutely breathtaking!"

"What an amazing place!" Blaze said.

"Now _this _is the summit!" Ian said. "It's a major overhaul from what we were looking at before!"

"It's so beautiful!" commented Chikorita.

"I've never seen such a beauty like this before," said Charmander.

"Congrats on reach the summit, everyone!" announced Shaymin. "This is indeed the summit of Sky Peak!"

"We really did it!" Machoke said.

"We've reached the summit at last!" Breloom said.

Mawile went over to the cliff of the summit. She was amazed by the view.

"Hey, guys! Come over here, the view here is even more fantastic!"

Everybody else went to where she was, as they took in the view of the mountains below them, and a view of the sky, where they caught a glimpse of a shooting star. They were even more amazed by this incredible sight.

"Oh man, what a view!" commented Leon.

"This _must _be the treasure of Sky Peak!" exclaimed Blaze.

"We've opened it up, all right!" said Ian.

"You can see those mountains down below and a part of space from above!" Charmander said.

"It's so incredible!" Chikorita said.

"Are we ever glad that we've climbed this mountain," said Leon.

"Me too!" Mawile replied. "I'm just speechless by this amazing view! This must be the fabled treasure that is superior to all other treasure..."

The teams turned over to Shaymin, while he approached them.

"Shaymin," Leon began, "thank you so much for guiding all of us here."

"The pleasure is mine!" the gratitude pokémon replied. "I had fun climbing the mountain with all of you! I have to thank you for that, too! Let's hope we do this again sometime!"

"**YEAH!**" everyone cheered.

"With that said...shall we head back to the base of the mountain now?"

"Of course!" replied Mawile.

The teams suddenly stopped smiling, as they were now puzzled as to how to get all the way back down from the summit!

"Just one question, though," Leon began, "how the heck _do _we get back down from here?"

"That's right!" exclaimed an alarmed Blaze. "We haven't even thought of that yet!"

"Man, this is a brain twister!" Ian said. "That's for sure!"

Shaymin simply let out a cute laugh.

"Calm down, guys!" he assured. "I've got an idea to take all of you back down."

"You do?" questioned Mawile.

"Of course." Shaymin directed the company to one of the fuchsia flowers. "There's a special flower here called the Gracidea, one that is special for us shaymin. You may be asking how it's special right now, so I'll show it to you."

He touched the Gracidea, then suddenly, he glowed white and transformed from his Land Forme into his Sky Forme!

"Whoa! Your appearance changed!" exclaimed Leon. "It's almost as if you've evolved!"

"Yup!" Shaymin replied with a deeper voice. "It's only temporary, though. I _will _go back to my Land Forme after a while."

"Man, Shaymin!" Ian said. "I thought you were adorable, but now you're all spectacular!"

The gratitude pokémon had a little laugh.

"When I'm in my Sky Forme like I am now, I can fly."

"Then that must mean..." Mawile began.

"That's right! I can take all of you back down to the base of the mountain right now!" answered Shaymin. He then went to the face of the cliff, with everybody watching him. "Consider this a gift from me to you! Now hang on tight, everyone! We're about to soar down to the base of the mountain!"

He made his way down the mountain, with everyone else gaining the magical ability to fly down with him!

* * *

Once the three teams got back down after successfully climbing to the summit of Sky Peak, they thank Shaymin graciously and went back to Treasure Town. The sun was beginning to fall by the time they arrived, and proceeded to have a huge party at Spinda's Café in honor of their tremendous achievement. Everybody stayed up until dawn, discussing about the exploration, and had a great time as well. Eventually, Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters both headed home to Sharpedo Bluff to get some much needed rest.

* * *

By the time the next day had arrived, it was already afternoon, as the five pokémon woke up, yawned, and turned to each other for a conversation with big wide smiles on their faces.

"Man, what a party last night!" Leon began.

"That one was even bigger than your grad party, Leon and Blaze!" insisted Ian.

"Yeah!" Blaze replied as he laughed. "I'm still kinda tired from last night."

"We won't soon be forgetting everyone's smiling faces!" Charmander said.

"What an exciting night it was!" Chikorita said.

"It's like my pal Blaze said once before," Leon said, "exploring can be so much fun! Who's with me?"

"**Me!**" everyone else agreed.

"I'm very happy to hear that, guys! Let's continue exploring today!"

"**YEAH!**"

The two teams went up and out of Sharpedo Bluff to start what was left of today.


	3. Rescuing a Famous Explorer

_**Chapter 3**_

_**Rescuing a Famous Explorer**_

A few days after the exhilarating exploration up Sky Peak, both Team Go-Getters and Team Poképals had made it to the Super Rank, which was one rank higher than the Diamond Rank from completing jobs after the exploration. Today, with Team Go-Getters already departed for their usual job-taking duties, Leon and Blaze of Team Poképals met up with a mr. mime who told them about the tale of a famous explorer named Scizor. He was an extraordinary explorer whose fame stretched across the entire pokémon world, and had a reputation that all other explorers aspired toward. However, he went missing while exploring Blizzard Island, which was located far to the southwest from Treasure Town. Many exploration teams had set out to rescue Scizor, but due to the bitter cold and frequent blizzards, no one had been able to rescue him so far. From what Mr. Mime told Leon and Blaze about all of this, it was a tale that originated several years ago, and that there were rumors that Scizor was searching for an amazing treasure within the cold island itself. The mime pokémon then encouraged the very skillful Team Poképals to rescue the great explorer once and for all, since the climate at Blizzard Island had improved, and that meant that the possibility of that elusive rescue had arrived at last. Leon and Blaze agreed to this, and they made their way to the island.

* * *

Upon arriving at Blizzard Island, Blaze had felt a chill around his body, while his piplup friend Leon felt like it was home to him, since he was a penguin pokémon. They turned to each other for a conversation.

"B-b-b-boy, Leon!" Blaze began as he shook from the cold. "It sure is cold around here! Luckily for you though, you don't seem to be affected one bit by the chill!"

The piplup had a little laugh before he spoke.

"It feels like home to me here! Don't worry though, Blaze! We won't consider moving here at all. I love our new home at Sharpedo Bluff so much, that it's the only place we'll think of staying at for a long time!"

"T-t-thanks for saying that, pal. Now let's go rescue Scizor as quickly as we can before this cold gets the best of me!"

They went ahead into the dungeon of Blizzard Island.

* * *

The dungeon of the snowy island had twenty floors of mostly ice-type pokémon, mixed in with water and normal types. The ice-types were no problem for Blaze, since his fire-type moves would prove super effective in knocking them down for the count. He and Leon however would still need to be on their guard to get through this snowy dungeon.

When they successfully got through Blizzard Island's main dungeon, they ran into a crevice that cut through a giant wall of ice. Realizing that this was the entrance to another dungeon, they decided to restock their item supply at a nearby Kangaskhan Rock before they went in.

* * *

The other dungeon of Blizzard Island, aptly named the Crevice Cave, had around fifteen more floors of ice, water, and normal-type pokémon. Team Poképals once again followed the same strategy they had from the previous dungeon to conquer this one.

* * *

When Leon and Blaze got deep within Crevice Cave, they saw a pokémon encased in ice. It was red in color, had wings on its back, and two claws to attack other pokémon in battle. Based from what it looked like, it was assumed to be a bug-type pokémon.

"Hey! That must be Scizor over there!" exclaimed Leon. "He must be that great explorer which Mr. Mime talked about!"

"Let's get closer so we can get him out of his icy prison!" replied Blaze.

The two tried to get closer to him, but a gust of wind, along with the falling snow, suddenly stopped them in their tracks. A mysterious feminine voice also laughed in the area, as she spoke.

"Visitors...what a rare sight for me."

More snow, albeit now at a rapid rate, fell down, blinding Team Poképals. After a few seconds, it stopped, allowing Leon and Blaze to open their eyes to see another pokémon in front of the frozen Scizor. It was floating in the air, and had a mostly snowy-white body, indicating that it was an ice-type. They stepped back in alarm from the pokémon as it greeted itself.

"Welcome to the both of you. I am Froslass, and I play host to the infrequent visitors to this frozen hinterland! It must have been awfully exhausting for you to fight those blizzards..."

"Not for me, at least!" insisted Leon.

"I can't say the same, though!" said Blaze.

"Well then, little chimchar...come closer to me," replied Froslass. "You must be chilled almost down to the bone..."

"Don't listen to her, Blaze!" warned Leon, as he grabbed the chimchar back to him. "She's trying to trick you!"

Blaze listened to his piplup buddy, as he stayed put.

"I see, then..." Froslass said. She got into her battle stance before she continued talking. "I'll have to do this the hard way. Prepare yourselves to be frozen solid from head to feet!"

"**Not today!**" Team Poképals replied, as they also got into their stances.

The battle to save Scizor from the clutches of Froslass had begun!

* * *

Since it was only a two-versus-one affair with the ice-type boss, Leon and Blaze used their pure battle instincts to bring her down. The chimchar utilized his fire-type moves carefully to weaken Froslass considerably so that he and Leon could defeat her without any problem.

A few moments later, Froslass had collapsed onto the ground, as Team Poképals had won the battle. Leon and Blaze turned to each other to celebrate.

"That's another victory for the great Team Poképals!" Blaze said.

"Awesome!" replied Leon.

They jumped up in the air while they did a high-five. Once they landed, they turned to Froslass, who got up slowly while groaning in pain.

"Impressive, young pokémon..." she said. "You have got your reward. Remember that I will not go easy on you the next time we meet..."

She had a laugh while a wave of falling snow blinded the area. Once it cleared, Froslass was gone from Team Poképals' sight. The ice that kept Scizor frozen, meanwhile, broke apart, and he and his body moved once more. He shook off the cold and looked around to realize where he was.

"Ah, yes. I recall now," he began. "I had been exploring Blizzard Island here before I was set upon by that beastly Froslass..." He turned to Leon and Blaze. "Oh! Both of you must've come to rescue me, right?"

"**That's right!**" they said.

"Please forgive me for not introducing myself. My name is Scizor, and I am an explorer." He noticed that Blaze was shaking from the cold. "Well, fellow piplup...your poor chimchar friend here seems to be terribly cold. Let's leave this island at once so I can explain myself further."

"Yeah, let's get goin'!" Leon replied.

"I c-c-couldn't agree more!" Blaze happily said.

The three pokémon got close to each other to teleport out of Crevice Cave.

* * *

When Team Poképals and Scizor all got back near Treasure Town, Team Go-Getters also joined up with them to listen in to their conversation.

"I am sincerely grateful for your coming to my rescue," Scizor said to Leon and a now warm Blaze. "If both of you hadn't come along, I very well could've remained encased in ice forever. However, little did I expect to see that decades have passed since my icebound predicament. It was as if I had traveled to an entirely different world. Incidentally, I would like to somehow repay you for saving my life."

The pincer pokémon sweat-dropped, realizing that he was short on money.

"However, I find myself alone in an alien world, and without a single poké to my name. I have no other idea on how to possibly repay you..."

"Hey, it's fine!" insisted Leon. "You don't need to thank us any more."

Scizor decided to search his pockets, and felt that he found something.

"Wait! I _do _have something here after all!" He turned to Team Go-Getters. "Will the three of you get close to us, please?"

Ian, Charmander, and Chikorita joined the group.

"All of you are exploration teams, right?" questioned Scizor.

"**Yeah!**" all the members of the two teams cheered.

"I see! Now, although you may find this truth to be unlikely, I was once an explorer of some repute. I'll now let you know that I am an honorary member of the Pokémon Exploration Team Federation!"

Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters could only sweat-drop in response, having no idea what it meant.

"An honorary..." Leon began.

"...Member?" finished Ian.

"Correct!" insisted Scizor. "An honorary member, such as myself, has the right to give special status to exemplary exploration teams. Both of you teams fit that category!" He turned to Team Go-Getters. "For you three, I heard that all of you have once saved the world from disaster once as well."

"**That's true!**" they said.

Scizor then turned to Team Poképals.

"As for you two, your incredible courage during my rescue proves that you are more than exemplary!"

He focused his attention on the entire crowd.

"For all of your efforts, I confer upon you...the Secret Rank!"

The two teams drew confused looks, having no slight idea of the newly discovered hidden rank.

"It's a rank that makes exploration teams eligible to take on special missions that were normally inaccessible without that Secret Rank. Those special missions are highly confidential jobs that come straight from the Exploration Team Federation itself."

"Highly confidential?" wondered Blaze. "I don't get it..."

"You may not know now," Scizor replied, "but it will become clear in due time. I'll need to make a note of your new rank on your Explorer Badges."

He put a star on each member's Explorer Badge to officially activate their teams' Secret Rank.

"I still don't know what this is about, but thanks, anyway," said a still confused Leon.

"It's the least that I could do," insisted Scizor. "I will never forget your valor and kindness that all of you have shown to me! I must now be on my way. Until then, farewell!"

He turned to his left to make his way out of the town completely, as everybody watched him leave. They sweat-dropped again, as they still had no idea what their newly acquired Secret Rank meant, despite Scizor trying his best to explain it to them.

"Okay then..." Leon said after a while.

"Hopefully we'll get what he said later on," Ian replied. "For now, let's go home and get some rest."

Everyone agreed and they went to Sharpedo Bluff to turn in for today.


	4. Little Guy of the Sea

_**Chapter 4**_

_**The Little Guy of the Sea**_

A few days after their special rescue mission of the famous explorer Scizor at Blizzard Island, Team Poképals met with Corphish outside Wigglytuff's Guild's entrance. He told them that Sunflora had heard of a long lost place called the Surrounded Sea being discovered after thousands of years being covered in secrecy. Leon and Blaze decided to go in the guild to talk to her about its location. The Surrounded Sea was a sea located in an ocean far in the south in uncharted territory, encased in ice for many years until there was recently a break in the ice. The gap was opened wide enough for explorers to go into that enclosed sea, and rumors had surfaced that several rare treasures lay in wait for those that make it all the way through the Surrounded Sea's dungeon, which was located east of Blizzard Island. Feeling enthusiastic as always from news like this, Team Poképals made their way out of the guild and to the Surrounded Sea.

* * *

The dungeon of the Surrounded Sea had around twenty floors of water-type pokémon, which would be a force to reckon with for Blaze due to him being a fire-type. However, he had backup in the form of his best friend Leon, and two other electric-type teammates.

Once they got to the twentieth floor, they found three treasure boxes, and Leon and Blaze gave two of them to their other teammates to open for themselves later in Treasure Town. When they went deeper into the treasure room, they found a pokémon egg that was very different to the ones they have been collecting from accomplishing specific jobs from the guild's bulletin boards. It was blue around it, except in the center, where it was red.

"Whoa!" Leon began, amazed by the sight of the unusual egg. "This egg is unlike anything we've gotten from some of our rewards from the jobs we've completed!"

"I doubt if Chansey's Daycare will look after it, though," replied Blaze. "Chansey there is quite busy with all the eggs she's looking after these days!"

"I know! We'll take this egg back with us to Sharpedo Bluff and look after it ourselves until it hatches!" Leon noticed that the egg was shaking just a little bit. "Heck, it might even hatch tomorrow!"

"Yeah, Leon! Let's head home!"

The piplup and the chimchar, with the special egg in their hands, went onto the warp tile ahead of where the egg was to exit the Surrounded Sea.

* * *

When Team Poképals got back home to Sharpedo Bluff, they noticed that Team Go-Getters was already back from their exploration jobs. Ian, Charmander, and Chikorita noticed the blue egg that Leon and Blaze were carrying and were amazed by its appearance.

"Oh man!" Ian began. "That pokémon egg is unlike anything we've seen in Chansey's Daycare!"

"No doubt!" Charmander replied. "Even Chansey couldn't believe it if she saw that egg for herself!"

"Speaking of which," Chikorita inserted, "why have both of you decided to take it here instead of the daycare?"

"We talked to Chansey yesterday," Leon began to answer, "and she said her daycare would be at full capacity in eggs for the next few days or so."

"That's why this egg that we have here is staying at our home until it hatches," explained Blaze.

"Ohhhh, I see," replied Ian.

All five pokémon yawned at the same time.

"Well, guys...I think it's time we hit the hay for tonight," insisted Leon.

"Wait! We should pull out a bed for the egg to lie on until it hatches!" alerted Blaze.

"Great idea! Let's get a bed out!"

Team Poképals pulled out another straw bed underneath a drawer near the natural spring water, and they set the egg on the bed that was to be positioned between the two teams' sleeping areas. Once it was done, they said their good nights and headed to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, the five pokémon got up and looked at the mysterious blue egg that was sitting in the middle in the nest of the bluff. A few seconds later, it moved left and right a couple of times in an attempt to hatch right away. Team Go-Getters was startled from the movement of the egg.

"Whoa!" Ian began. "The egg's moving left and right like crazy!"

"That might mean..." replied Charmander.

"It's starting to hatch!" answered Chikorita.

They and Leon and Blaze watched as the egg emitted a blinding light from its body. Seconds later, it was gone, and in its place, a little floating aqua-blue pokémon appeared. It looked around for a few moments, before it turned to the two teams, who were awe-struck by its cute appearance.

"Hiiiii~!" the pokémon greeted with an adorable voice of a baby boy.

"Awwww!" Chikorita replied. "Hi to you too!"

"Oh boy!" Blaze said. "It's indeed a pokémon, but I've never seen anything like this!"

The blue floating baby pokémon attempted to talk, but he could only manage his usual baby talk.

"Awww, he's trying to talk to us!" Leon said. "What a cute little guy!"

"I wonder what kinda pokémon he is," said Ian.

"Since he might not understand us, being that he's so young," Charmander insisted, "we should go ask Chatot over at the guild!"

"That's a great idea, Charmander!" replied Leon. "He's full of intelligence, and he might know who this little guy might be!"

"Okay, guys!" Ian announced. "Let's get to the guild!"

Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters, along with the floating baby pokémon, made their way out of their home at Sharpedo Bluff.

* * *

Once the six pokémon got inside Wigglytuff's guild to see Chatot, they explained to him why they got the baby pokémon, and who he might be.

"Well, to be quite honest," began Chatot, as he and the others examined the floating aqua-blue pokémon, "this is the first time I've actually seen a pokémon of this sort. However, judging from what you've told me, this youngster appears to be a pokémon named...Manaphy."

"Manaphy?" said Leon.

"That's right! This youngster is an extremely rare pokémon, meaning that there only a few like him in the whole world. It is said to hatch at the bottom of a cold sea, after which the pokémon then travels the seas over thousands of miles. I should also emphasize that manaphy are very rarely sighted, and as a result, very little is actually known about them."

"Man, it's no wonder why this little guy's a really rare pokémon!" insisted Ian.

"Rare-rare~!" replied Manaphy.

Chatot turned to the two teams.

"So, all of you," he said, as they turned to him, "what do you intend to do with this youngster?"

"Hmmmm..." Blaze wondered. "Come to think of it...we really haven't given it much thought."

Suddenly, Manaphy started to cry! Everybody turned to him in alarm.

"Whoa! The little guy's crying all of a sudden!" exclaimed Leon.

"I'd have to think that he's hungry," insisted Chatot.

"What should we feed him, then?" questioned Blaze.

"I'm not sure..." Chatot answered, "...but because he's a water-type pokémon, you should give him some blue gummies."

"Great idea!" replied Leon. "I've got some in our bag that I was planning to have for later, but since this is a baby emergency, we'll give one to him now!"

He took a blue gummy out of his team's bag and held it out to a tearful Manaphy.

"Here little guy~! Open wide~! It's a blue gummy, just for you!"

"G-goomi?" the seafaring pokémon said.

He did as he was told, opening his mouth to eat the gummy. After a few seconds, he was happy again.

"Goomi! Goomi!"

"Boy, what a relief!" Blaze said. "He ate the gummy and stopped crying!"

Manaphy gave Leon a hug, as a sign of thanks.

"Man, guys!" the piplup exclaimed in surprise. "I think he likes me! He's so adorable!"

Everybody laughed.

"Isn't it obvious?" Chikorita remarked.

"We oughta look after the little guy for a while," Leon said. "He's too cute to go with anybody else than us!"

"**Awesome!**" everyone but Chatot said.

"We'll do it, all right!" Blaze said.

"Doodit~!" Manaphy said.

Chatot had a concerned look on his face, as he turned to both of the teams.

"I'm not sure this is a good idea..." Everybody turned to him and listened.

"Why?" questioned Ian.

"This child is a pokémon that would normally grow in the sea. Being that this environment is obviously unlike the sea, and that we know next to nothing about Manaphy...who knows what could happen?"

"It wouldn't be safe to just return the little guy to the sea, though," insisted Leon. "Can we look after him until he gets a bit bigger? Pleeeeease?"

The piplup, along with the rest of the pokémon, had puppy eyes. Chatot gave it a careful thought.

"We promise that we'll look after him properly!" Blaze said.

"...Fine," answered a reluctant Chatot. "If you insist."

"You have nothing to worry about! You can count on us!"

Leon turned to his best friend. Both of them, along with Team Go-Getters, had smiles on their faces.

"That's right, Blaze!"

Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters took Manaphy back to Sharpedo Bluff with him.

* * *

When they arrived back at their home, they had a talk with the little guy.

"Okay, Manaphy," began Leon. "For the time being, this will be your house."

"House?" the seafaring pokémon repeated.

"That's right. House. We're all gonna look after ya, little guy."

Manaphy jumped up and down in joy.

"House, house~!"

Blaze turned to Leon.

"But, uhhh...what're we supposed to do now?"

"Goomi, goomi!" Manaphy answered for the piplup.

"He wants another blue gummy, silly!" Leon said to Blaze. "Our little Manaphy here's got quite the appetite!"

"Okay, then!" the chimchar replied. "Another gummy it is!"

Leon took another blue gummy out of his team's bag and gave it to Manaphy. He ate it.

"Is it tasty?" Blaze said. "Er...goomi tasty?"

"Tasty?" repeated Manaphy.

"Yup! Tasty?"

"Tasty~! Goomi tasty~!" The seafaring pokémon proudly answered.

Everybody around him had a wide smile.

"Awww!" Leon exclaimed. "He's gonna grow up in no time at this pace!"

Manaphy suddenly stopped smiling, as his eyes grew wide.

"Is something wrong, Manaphy?" questioned Blaze.

The seafaring pokémon began yawning. Next, he plopped down onto his bed and went to sleep.

"Would ya look at that!" Ian said. "Since the little guy ate his fill, he needs to sleep it off now."

"We better be quiet now and let him sleep," suggested Charmander.

"Good idea," replied Chikorita.

Everyone each gave Manaphy a soft pat.

"Sweet dreams, little guy," they whispered.

Suddenly, Leon yawned, feeling tired as well.

"Man, oh man...I'm tired too, guys," he said. "I think it's time for my own baby nap."

Everybody else also yawned.

"We're gettin' tired too!" Ian said.

"We barely did anything today," Blaze replied, "and yet we're already getting sleepy!"

"Might as well hit the hay early, then," suggested Charmander.

They all nodded in agreement. Everyone took off their items and bags, hung them on the wall, and they went to their beds for an early rest for today. Even though there was still plenty of day left, spending time with Manaphy and raising him properly was what mattered the most right now.

* * *

The next morning, the two teams woke up and looked to each other.

"Good morning, guys!" announced Leon.

They turned to Manaphy who was already up and eager to get the day started.

"Hi~!" he said.

"Good morning to you too, Manaphy!" Blaze said.

"Morning, Leon, Blaze, Ian, Charmander, and Chikorita!"

Everybody was amazed at how the seafaring pokémon memorized their names so quickly.

"Wow! The little guy called all of us by our names!" Leon exclaimed.

"That's awesome, Manaphy!" Ian said.

"Awesome~!" repeated Manaphy.

The two teams turned to each other for a quick discussion.

"Well, guys," Leon said, "what should we do with him today?"

"Eating and sleeping all the time doesn't seem healthy enough..." insisted Blaze.

"Maybe we should take the little guy for a walk to the beach!" announced Ian.

"Walk~!" repeated Manaphy.

"That's right, little guy!" Charmander said, as he and the others turned to him.

"Let's get to the beach, then!" Chikorita announced.

Everybody went out of the bluff's home to get to the sandy beach just outside of Treasure Town.

* * *

When they got to the beach, Manaphy stared in amazement at the sight of the sea. Absolutely enjoying the sight, he jumped in joy.

"Manaphy," Leon said, as the seafaring pokémon turned to him, "this is the sea. Sea..."

"Sea?" repeated Manaphy.

"That's right, sea," said Blaze. "That's where you came from."

"Sea, sea!"

Manaphy went around each of the pokémon as he said their name in great joy. He was really enjoying his time at the beach so far. When he was done, he turned to them again, as they laughed in enjoyment.

"Guys, Manaphy's really happy to be here!" Leon announced. "This was such an awesome idea to bring him down to the beach with us."

"Hey, Leon!" Ian said, as the piplup turned to him. "Why don't we go for a swim in the water so Manaphy can play with us?"

"Good idea, Ian!"

The three water pokémon went to the water, with Leon and Ian diving into it, while Manaphy floated atop of them. They splashed water at each other in pure playfulness, while Blaze, Charmander, and Chikorita all built little sand castles for Manaphy to look at for later. All of the pokémon seemed to have the time of their lives on the beach.

When sunset arrived, they all went back home to Sharpedo Bluff to get some rest. Later that night, Manaphy got up from his bed while the others were asleep, and looked out to the sea from the bottom jaw of the bluff. He had a face of worry on him…

* * *

The next morning, Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters woke up and turned to each other.

"Good morning, everybody!" Leon announced.

They turned to Manaphy's bed.

"Good morning to y-" Blaze began, but he suddenly realized that the little guy was not in his bed!

"Manaphy…?" Ian said.

The five pokémon looked around for the seafaring pokémon, and called out his name, but he was nowhere to be found in the bluff. They turned back to each other.

"Oh no, guys!" Leon announced. "Manaphy's gone missing!"

"What should we do?!" questioned a panicked Blaze.

"Where could he have possibly gone off to?" Charmander said.

"I don't know," Chikorita insisted, "but we've gotta find him...fast!"

They all nodded in agreement, as they grabbed each of their items and team bags before they went out of the bluff to go and search for Manaphy.

* * *

With the two teams now in Treasure Town, they called out for Manaphy to see if he would come out of a building, beside a tree, or any hiding spot he might be in. Next, they spoke to some of the pokémon around town to see if they saw him, but to no avail. They went over to the splitting pathways outside of town to meet up with Chatot.

"Ah, Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters~!" the parrot announced. "I was just on my way to see how the little Manaphy is doing~! I trust that he's doing well?"

They shook their heads in disagreement.

"That's not it!" Leon insisted. "He's gone missing!"

"Wh-what?!" Chatot squawked in alarm. "Didn't I tell all of you to take proper care of that baby? Didn't I?!"

"We're trying our best to locate him, though!" insisted Ian.

"Fine, I'll look too! Manaphy's still a toddler, so he couldn't have gotten too far. While I'll look through the guild myself, all of you will continue looking for him outside here!"

The two teams nodded in agreement, as Chatot went into Wigglytuff's Guild to search for Manaphy. They turned to each other next.

"Wait!" Leon announced. "I think Manaphy might be at the beach! He likes it so much there!"

"That's where we played all day yesterday!" Blaze replied. "C'mon! He could be over there!"

The two teams made their way down the stairs leading to the beach.

When they got there, they indeed saw Manaphy staring out to the sea. They approached him and surrounded him.

"There you are, Manaphy!" announced Leon.

"You had all of us worried!" Blaze said.

"Why did you come here by yourself?!" questioned Ian.

Manaphy did not turn to them or answer.

"Hey...Manaphy?" said a worried Charmander.

"What's wrong?" Chikorita said.

Suddenly, the seafaring pokémon collapsed onto the sand, as everyone gasped in horror!

"**Manaphy!**" they said.

Leon went close to Manaphy and examined him carefully. He felt his forehead lastly, and discovered that it was hot. The piplup turned back to the crowd in worry.

"Bad news, guys! He's running a high fever!"

"Oh no!" Ian replied. "We'll have to get him back to our house!"

Charmander turned to Chikorita.

"Chikorita," he said, "go and tell Chatot that we found Manaphy and that we're taking him back to Sharpedo Bluff!"

"Got it!" she replied.

Chikorita ran out of the beach and towards the guild, while the four pokémon paid their attention back to the unconscious Manaphy.

"Okay, guys," Leon said. "We're gonna carry him back to the bluff together. On the count of three, we'll lift him! Ready?"

"**Ready****!**" everyone else announced in agreement, as they put their hands on Manaphy. Leon counted down so he and the others could lift him up simultaneously.

"One...two...three!"

They were able to lift him off the sand and carry him back to the bluff.

* * *

Once they got there, Chikorita led Chatot down the stairs into the two teams' home to find Manaphy laying on his bed. The four pokémon surrounding him turned to the parrot.

"Chatot!" Leon announced. "Manaphy's got a terrible fever!"

The parrot, along with Chikorita, surrounded the seafaring pokémon. Chatot put one of his wings on Manaphy's forehead to confirm that he was indeed ill. Chatot squawked in alarm.

"M-my word! That fever of his is indeed frightful!"

"We know," Blaze replied. "We found him on the beach… We tried to get his attention, but he collapsed without warning."

Chatot had a somber look on his face, as he spoke again.

"...Manaphy's illness must be caused by being in the wrong environment." He turned to the teams. "Just as I'd imagine, he's a pokémon that needs to grow in the sea. Our environment here is completely unlike being in the sea, and that's why this infant is ill."

Blaze grunted in frustration and worry.

"Argh! It's our fault that Manaphy is in danger!"

"As things stand, though," Chatot insisted, "remorse and regret won't help now. We need to focus solely on curing Manaphy's illness."

"How exactly can we cure him?" questioned Leon.

"From what I've heard from pokémon living in the sea...it seems that there is a cure-all item known as the Phione Dew. That may be enough to cure Manaphy's illness alone."

"Phione Dew...now where could that be, Chatot?"

"There are pokémon called phione that drift along the sea, and are said to produce the Phione Dew. I believe they live in an area to the west called the Miracle Sea."

"Miracle Sea...gotcha!"

Leon and Blaze turned to each other with determined looks on their faces.

"We've gotta find the phione, no matter what, Leon!" the chimchar began. "It's the only way we can save Manaphy!"

"I'm with you, Blaze!"

Team Poképals turned to Team Go-Getters.

"Guys," Leon said, "you'll have to stay here and look after Manaphy today. Blaze and I have a crucial mission to find that dew at the Miracle Sea!"

They nodded in agreement, as Leon and Blaze made their way out of Sharpedo Bluff to prepare for the trip to the Miracle Sea.

* * *

The dungeon of Miracle Sea, like the Surrounded Sea, had over 20 floors of water-type pokémon that the team had to deal with. Aware of Blaze's weakness here, he and Leon bought two electric-type teammates along for the exploration.

When Team Poképals got to the seabed, they saw a group of phione playing with each other. They were pokémon who looked similar to Manaphy, albeit with a bigger body and blue eyes instead of yellow. The team started to approach them, when a roar within the seabed surprised them all. A big pokémon named Gyarados, who had a blue body on top and a cream stomach, cut in between the two groups. It looked at the phione, and let out a laugh before speaking.

"I found you all at last! You're the phione, the ones who make the cure-all Phione Dew, right? Well, rejoice! From now on, you will all answer to me! All of your dew belongs to me from now on!"

He laughed again, prompting Team Poképals to step in.

"Think again, Gyarados!" announced Leon.

The atrocious pokémon turned to the team.

"Now who might _you _be?" he demanded.

"We're Team Poképals!" Blaze answered. "That Phione Dew doesn't deserve to be taken away like that!"

"So you have a bone to pick with me, huh?" Gyarados laughed in bewilderment. "You're a million years too early to pick a fight with _me!_"

"Oh, yeah?" Leon insisted. "We're _way _stronger than we look! You'll regret saying those words to us! Prepare yourself!"

He and his teammates got into their battle stances.

"Come at me, then!" Gyarados roared, as the battle got underway!

* * *

The battle itself would last around a minute, as the atrocious pokémon had indeed regretted bragging about his size and brute strength. When he was defeated, he collapsed onto the watery surface and laid for a few seconds, until he rose up slowly and grunted in frustration.

"Grrrr…I won't forget this!"

He turned to his left and made his way out of the seabed, as the phione approached and congratulated Team Poképals for their victorious efforts. They gave them a yellow box that had the cure-all Phione Dew that was required to heal Manaphy from his illness. The team thanked them for the offer and left the Miracle Sea.

* * *

When Leon and Blaze themselves arrived back at Sharpedo Bluff, they barely woke up Manaphy and instructed him to take the Phione Dew so he can be cured. They, along with Team Go-Getters and Chatot watched anxiously as Manaphy drank the dew up. After a few moments, he opened his eyes up slowly but completely, as he looked to Team Poképals who saved him.

"...Thank you...Leon...and Blaze."

All of the pokémon around Manaphy were immensely relieved that he was finally cured of his illness.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Leon said.

"It worked, all right!" Chatot replied. "Manaphy should be completely healthy within two to three days of rest."

Tears of relief and joy appeared from the two teams.

"That's a-awesome!" Blaze exclaimed. "Am I ever g-glad to hear...that's he gonna be f-fine."

* * *

A few days later, Manaphy, as predicted, had completely recovered and was back to his cheerful self again. He played with both Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters on the bluff above the house for most of the day to enjoy the rest of the time they had left together before the seafaring pokémon would have to leave for the seas. The sun was about to set for today…

"The little guy's as good as ever!" commented Leon.

"Good! Ever!" repeated Manaphy.

"Are we ever glad to see this!" Ian said.

Chatot approached the group as he had a serious look on his face.

"Everyone...it's time."

They turned to him, as they now wore sad looks on their faces.

"Yes...we know," Blaze replied.

"Manaphy needs to develop the ability to survive in the sea..." Charmander said.

"Well, guys," Chikorita said, "we should take him to the beach one more time before he leaves us."

"Good idea," Chatot responded. "There's someone waiting for him there, after all."

Everybody understood this and went to the beach.

* * *

When all the pokémon got to the beach, they saw a walrus-like pokémon named Walrein supposedly waiting for Manaphy. Chatot started to explain to the two teams.

"The guildmaster and I decided to invite Walrein here from the Northern Sea. We felt that he would be ideal for looking after Manaphy."

"Aye," the ice break pokémon agreed. "I've heard all I need to hear from Wigglytuff. You have my word. I will take full responsibility on raising Manaphy."

"Please take good care of the little guy," pleaded Leon.

He and the others turned to Manaphy.

"Manaphy," Blaze said, "from now on, I want you to be good and listen to Walrein so that you can grow strong and healthy in the sea."

The seafaring pokémon seemed to be confused by the chimchar's words. The two teams had tears of sadness falling from their eyes.

"As you g-get o-older...don't forget us..." Leon said.

Manaphy had a concerned look on his face.

"...G-guys?" he could only reply.

Chatot also had a somber look on his face.

"...Prolonging this will only make it worse..." He turned to Walrein. "Walrein, if you may..."

"Aye."

The walrus pokémon turned to Manaphy.

"Let's go, Manaphy."

The seafaring pokémon turned to him in confusion, as Walrein approached him. Once he grabbed him, Manaphy was alarmed as to what was actually happening, as he could only turn back to the two teams.

"Guys?"

As Walrein pulled him to the sea, Manaphy began to cry out the names of the five pokémon that looked after him. He had tears falling down, as he and Walrein began to leave the sight of Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters.

"Take care...Manaphy..." Ian said in between sobs.

They all knew at this point that they had lost the adoring little seafaring pokémon, but they knew in their minds that it was the only solution to make him live properly until he grew up. Still, they continued to shed tears as they made their way back home to Sharpedo Bluff.

Later that night, neither of the five pokémon spoke to each other, as they were still heartbroken by letting go of Manaphy hours earlier. They only sat on their beds looking down at the ground, as they struggled to get the heartbreaking event out of their minds. Eventually, they would all fall asleep.

* * *

The very next morning, the teams said "good morning" to each other, as they looked to the bed where Manaphy once slept on. They realized that he would not be back anytime soon, as they once again had somber looks on their faces.

"...Poor Manaphy..." Leon began.

"The little guy's gone..." Blaze responded.

"It was for the best, though...there was nothing more we could do."

"You're right, Leon," Ian replied.

Everybody turned to each other.

"We did the only right thing for Manaphy," Charmander said.

"I think, and hope, that Walrein will raise him properly," Chikorita said.

"Yeah," replied Blaze. "...And maybe...one day somewhere, even here, we'll all be able to see Manaphy again..."

Everyone turned to his bed one more time, before they decided to put it away under a drawer. They turned back to each other once more.

"Guys..." Leon began, as he had a serious look on his face, "...we really shouldn't go around feeling sorry and sad forever. I doubt Manaphy would want that."

"But I just can't get back to feeling like it's normal right away..." insisted Blaze.

"We should still try to keep ourselves positive and move on, all right?" suggested Ian.

"Yeah!" answered Leon. "Let's start by giving ourselves a much needed group hug. We all have to comfort each other, after all."

Everyone else nodded in agreement, as they smiled and gave a huge group hug to each other. After a few moments, they separated from one another and got ready for today's explorations.

They knew that moving on without Manaphy would be difficult, but they would have to try their best for him from now on.


	5. Team Charm on the Scene

_**Chapter 5**_

_**Team Charm on the Scene!**_

After a few days of several more jobs completed, Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters both appeared to put the heartbreak of letting go of Manaphy to be raised properly by Walrein behind them. They worked out their resolve and managed to be completely full of energy again. When they made their way into the boards floor within the guild to take more jobs today, they noticed that the room was not occupied with any pokémon whatsoever, which was very unusual.

"Hey, where's everyone at? Bingo?" joked Leon.

He and the others had a laugh on his comment. Once the laughing died down, they heard noises of pokémon talking below them.

"Maybe something's down below us that's got everybody interested in other than jobs here!" insisted Blaze.

"Let's check it out, then!" replied Ian.

The two teams went to the right ladder to go below a floor to the guild quarters.

When they went down, they saw a crowd gathering around to admire and talk to a group of three pokémon. Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters, wanting to see who they were, went in to get a closer look. They got a clear view of the following three pokémon…

Gardevoir, a psychic-type pokémon who had green hair and a white body, which looked like a dress.

Medicham, a fighting-type pokémon who had the top of her head and pair of legs in purple, while the most of her body was pink. She looked like she was wearing baggy pants and a strange hat by her appearance.

Lopunny, a rabbit-like pokémon that had brown fur and abnormally large, white, fluffy ears hanging on each side.

After seeing the three pokémon for themselves, the two teams turned to each other for a quick chat.

"So _that's_ what everybody's interested in," Leon said.

"Yeah, and-" Ian began to reply, but cut himself off when he realized who two of those pokémon were. "Wait! My teammates and I know two of those pokémon! One who was formerly with Team Meanies, and another that I managed to revive not long after we saved the world back at the Air Continent!"

"Wow, you guys really met them before?!" responded an amazed Leon. "That's like some sort of reunion you've got going on here!"

"But Leon and I don't exactly know who they are, though!" Blaze replied. "Let's ask Chatot nearby!"

They turned to the parrot to talk to him.

"Hey, Chatot!" Leon began. "Who are those pokémon?"

Chatot turned to the two teams beside him, seemingly shocked that Leon and Blaze didn't know who the three pokémon being surrounded were.

"What?! I'm surprised that you don't know those three pokémon there!" he exclaimed. "That lovely trio is Team Charm! They're all known for being ultra famous treasure hunters! They are at the Master Rank level, which is one of the most highest ranks that an exploration team can achieve. Team Charm has that extraordinary merit to achieve that wonderful rank! They're experts at treasure hunting, discovering countless treasures, and earning recognition not just for their business...but for the way that they're strong, smart, and beautiful! The sheer style of their treasure hunts is what makes 'em celebrities~!"

Chatot went on to explain who the members of Team Charm were to both Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters. After that, he began to wonder what the beautiful trio was here for, until Wigglytuff came out of his chamber to greet them. Everybody quieted down and turned to him.

"Oh, Wigglytuff, darling!" Lopunny greeted back. "It's been a long time, sweetie!"

The guildmaster went closer to the trio.

"You haven't changed one bit, Wigglytuff!"

"Seeing you now as a guildmaster is quite amazing!" Medicham said.

"It's been a long time, Wigglytuff!" Gardevoir said.

"Yup! Long time no see, indeed~!" replied the guildmaster. "Have all of you been well?"

Team Charm nodded in agreement, while the guild's members were stunned that they somehow knew Wigglytuff from a long time ago.

"Long time…? Do you mean..."

"Guildmaster, are you already acquainted with Team Charm?"

Paying attention to their comments, but not looking to them, Medicham continued talking to Wigglytuff.

"Wigglytuff, you were a real go-getter back in the day, just like three pokémon I knew back at the Air Continent! How are you nowadays?"

"Back then, Wigglytuff here was something else!" Lopunny commented. "He was so cool that no one could beat him!"

The guildmaster had a little laugh, as Chatot was the next to speak.

"Uh, guildmaster….how do you know Team Charm here?"

Wigglytuff and Team Charm turned to him.

"Well, they're my old friends from long ago~!" answered the guildmaster.

"That's right," responded Lopunny. "We were partners in exploration with Wigglytuff."

"**WHAT?!**" everybody shouted.

They were stunned that the four pokémon knew each other without the knowledge of the guild themselves.

"The guildmaster...and Team Charm...knew each other a while ago?" whispered a shocked Chatot.

Wigglytuff and Team Charm turned back to each other.

"So...what brings all of you here?" questioned the guildmaster.

"We came here for an important matter," Gardevoir answered. "Do you recall, when we were exploring a long time ago, that we found a mysterious key? At the time, we didn't know what it was for, but now we found out where it should be used."

"You see," Medicham inserted, "we discovered a place called Aegis Cave. That's where the key will be a perfect fit to unlock its entrance. Even more, it's said that the cave itself holds a vast trove of treasure."

Everybody else was amazed by the discovery.

"A vast trove of..."

"...Treasure?!"

"Say, Wigglytuff..." Lopunny said. "Do you still have that key that we found back then?"

The guildmaster himself looked confused by her question.

"Key? Ummm...what kinda key? I can't remember!"

He had a little laugh, while Medicham appeared to be a tad mad about it.

"Hey! We went through a lot to get that key! Are ya saying you've lost it?!"

Gardevoir could only sweat-drop, as she spoke next.

"That's typical for you, Wigglytuff. It seems that some things haven't changed at all." Gardevoir turned to Lopunny. "Lopunny, it's time for our gift."

"Gotcha, Gardevoir!"

The rabbit pokémon took an apple out of her team's bag and gave it to Wigglytuff.

"Here you go, Wigglytuff! We've got a Perfect Apple, just for you!"

"Yay! Thanks~!"

The guildmaster placed the Perfect Apple atop of his head and played with it. While he did so, Team Charm continued to talk to him.

"So, about that key..." Gardevoir said.

"That's right!" Wigglytuff replied. "I'll go look for the key that's shaped like an unown!"

He turned around and went into his chamber to go look for the key. It only lasted a few seconds, as he used his Hyper Voice to shatter something hiding the key. He went back out of his chamber to give the key to Team Charm.

"Here ya go~!"

"That's it, darling!" Lopunny replied. "This is the key that will open the way into Aegis Cave! Thanks, Wigglytuff! Since you look to have all the time today, why don't you join us for our exploration? It'll be just like old times!"

The guildmaster, back to playing with his perfect apple, was too distracted to answer back.

"Perfect apple~, perfect apple~!"

Team Charm simply sweat-dropped.

"Ha, you really haven't changed, have you?" Gardevoir said.

"I guess we'll be going now, sweetie," Lopunny said next. "See ya, Wigglytuff!"

Team Charm turned to their left and started to make their way out of the guild, when Blaze stopped them.

"Uhhh...excuse me!"

The trio turned to the two teams, with Leon and Blaze having blushes on their cheeks, and hearts in their eyes.

"What is it?" questioned Lopunny.

"May...may we go e-exploring with you?" requested Leon.

"Yeah! We're interested too!" Ian said.

The rest of the guild, having hearing the requests, wanted to go as well.

"ME TOO!"

"And me!"

"Eek! I wanna go too!"

"Please, take all of us to explore the new dungeon with you, Team Charm!" Leon pleaded.

"**Pleeeeeease?**" everyone else said.

Team Charm looked at everybody in the room having puppy eyes as they considered their request. Lopunny had a little laugh before she spoke next.

"Everyone is so earnest around here! All of you are so adorable!" She struck a pose. "Of course you may!"

Everybody cheered, as they were happy and excited to go to Aegis Cave with Team Charm.

"Hooray! Thank you so much!" responded Blaze.

"Alright, sweeties." Lopunny announced. "All of you can follow us to Aegis Cave whenever you're ready! It's located southeast of here!"

As soon as Team Charm moved toward the ladder, Team Go-Getters and Team Poképals, along with most of the members, followed them up of the guild to make their way to Aegis Cave.

* * *

When everybody arrived at the entrance of the cave, Team Charm turned to both Teams Poképals and Go-Getters to have a conversation with Ian, Charmander, and Chikorita, before the key was used to unlock the gate itself.

Team Poképals properly introduced themselves for a few moments, before Team Go-Getters talked to Team Charm themselves.

"Hey, Ian!" Lopunny began. "Is it true that both of my teammates here met the three of you before?"

"That's right!" the squirtle answered. "Gardevoir here was one pokémon that I managed to rescue and revive when Gengar and I ventured into Murky Cave to get her. Although she doesn't know much of her prior life, is it true that she managed to travel to the Grass Continent here to join your team?"

"Yep!" Medicham answered for Lopunny. "That's exactly it, squirtle boy~! I was formerly a part of Team Meanies as all three of you can remember, until Gengar wanted to disband our team once he turned his attitude around after getting back Gardevoir. I was sad once that happened, but she wanted me to travel with her here so we could form a new friendship with each other."

"That's correct!" Gardevoir said. "She came with me to this continent and we met up with Lopunny. She was quite an excellent treasure hunter, and requested that we help her out in raising her and our reputation. Of course, we accepted it, and thus, our Team Charm was formed!"

"Man, that's quite a story!" Charmander replied. "It's not only us that came to the Grass Continent here, but both of you, Gardevoir and Medicham, as well!"

"We're really not the only ones when it comes to exploring new lands in this great world of ours!" Chikorita remarked.

Everyone had a little laugh at the comment.

"Well, it's time to explore the Aegis Cave now!" Lopunny said. "Give us a moment to unlock the gate to the cave!"

She and the rest of Team Charm turned back to the entrance to use the Unown Key to unlock the gate. Once it was opened, everybody went into the Aegis Cave.

* * *

Once everyone was in the cave itself, Lopunny explained that no one else had been able to explore it in a long time. Once they got to a stone tablet, she examined it and told them that there were unown letters inscribed in it that led to some clue for opening a new path to be discovered. The letters on that stone tablet had read "ICE", while the rest of the inscription had said, "If you seek passage, close your eyes, then submit your proof." Everybody would keep this in mind as they made their way into the dungeon.

The dungeon of Aegis Cave was filled with various pokémon, but more importantly, alphabet pokémon who were called unown. These letter pokémon species were key in solving the mystery of the stone tablet at the beginning of the dungeon. When one was defeated, it would sometimes shrink into a smaller, inanimate stone. Team Poképals, collected an "I" unown, with Team Go-Getters getting "C", and Team Charm having "E".

They arrived back at the very same place where the tablet was, noticing that the "Ice" section looped back here once it was completed. Deciding to solve the mystery once and for all, the three teams stood close to the "ICE" tablet holding out the three letters. Suddenly, the tablet glowed white, and it blinded the room for a few seconds. Once the light died down, a set of stairs replaced the stone tablet, and the three teams went down the stairs.

They arrived at a chamber and ran into a guardian pokémon named Regice, an ice-type who was wanting to test their power in a battle so that they could proceed further into the Aegis Cave. Despite there being eight pokémon to battle the guardian, it had great strength that was almost equal to a legendary pokémon, so everyone had to know not to hold back. After a few moments, Regice was defeated, and a spherical light coming from its remains enveloped Leon as it made him glow white for a second. It signified that the guardian's permission had been granted, and the wall where Regice had been standing in front of, opened up for the three teams to proceed deeper into Aegis Cave.

* * *

They ran into another stone tablet, this time with the word "ROCK" inscribed on it. Understanding by now what it meant, they went into the "rock" section of the cave to find the "R", "O", "C", and "K" unown.

When Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters arrived back at the second tablet after "clearing" the dungeon, they noticed a piece of paper containing a written letter on a floor. They read it, revealing that Team Charm had written it and said that they were ahead of both of them. They urged them to catch up, and the two teams went to the tablet to go further. Team Poképals had the letters "R" and "O" in their bag, while Team Go-Getters had "C" and "K" in theirs. They took them out and presented them to the stone tablet to reveal another set of stairs.

The two teams ran into another guardian pokémon named Regirock, which was covered in rocks and steel. Despite being short of Team Charm, they managed to defeat it and go further into the cave.

* * *

Another stone tablet awaited the two teams, this time having the word "STEEL" inscribed on it. They went into the "steel" section of the dungeon, where they found the letters "S", "T", two "E's", and "L" to replace the tablet with a set of stairs.

They ran into another guardian named Registeel, which was a robotic-like steel-type pokémon. Once they defeated it, they opened the cave behind where the guardian was. Before they made their way, Team Charm suddenly appeared in front of them, and were lying on the ground. They got up and explained that they were defeated by Registeel, and requested them that they would need help whenever a strong pokémon like it appeared again further into Aegis Cave. Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters happily accepted their request, and went ahead into the final dungeon section of the cave.

* * *

Once the three teams made it to the last chamber of the cave, they saw a group of several pokémon encased in stone. There were four hitmonlee, who were fighting-type pokémon, four bronzong, which were bell-shaped steel/psychic-type pokémon, and a Regigigas, who was a colossal normal-type pokémon bigger than the prior three guardians of Aegis Cave. They got closer to the frozen pokémon, but the light in the chamber suddenly got dark, as a voice spoke out.

"**Those who seek the treasures sleeping in the ground...show us all of your power!**"

A blinding light emitted within the big room, and when it went away, the statues suddenly came to life, startling the three teams!

"Whoa! The stone statues came to life!" Ian exclaimed.

"Not to worry, guys!" Leon insisted. "We're all battle together!"

"That's the spirit!" Lopunny replied.

The teams got into their battle stances as they prepared to take on the hitmonlee, the bronzong, and the final guardian of Aegis Cave, Regigigas!

With the colossal pokémon standing back to initially observe the battle, the bronzong occasionally used Safeguard to protect themselves and the hitmonlee from various status problems. Knowing that this would be a problem for the three teams, they took down the bronze bell pokémon first before targeting the hitmonlee. Once the eight pokémon were taken care of, only Regigigas remained. It would be tougher than the three guardians the teams faced within Aegis Cave, so they used various items to hamper its ability to battle, and make defeating it easier.

When everyone landed their last blows on Regigigas, it collapsed onto its stomach with a loud thump. They congratulated each other for the success by giving each other high fives in celebration. Suddenly, a giant red stone tablet appeared in front of them, as they jumped back in surprise.

"Whoa! What's _this _thing?!" Ian exclaimed.

"I'm not so sure, but there's an inscription on it!" answered Leon.

"Read it for us!" requested Lopunny.

The piplup went to get a closer look of the inscription to read it.

"Lemme see...it says, 'Close your eyes, then let your aura flow into the ground.'"

He closed his eyes as instructed and the red tablet glowed white on and off. Suddenly, Leon's aura spread to the ground, as Regigigas rose back up, startling everybody as it roared and punched the ground, causing the room to shake violently!

"Whoa! W-what the-?!" Ian exclaimed in alarm.

"We gotta get outta here _now_, guys!" ordered Leon.

Everybody turned around and ran out of Aegis Cave as fast as they could!

* * *

They eventually arrived outside of the cave, as they stopped to catch their breath. Team Charm turned to Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters to make sure that they were doing fine.

"Are you guys all right?" questioned Lopunny.

"Yup!" Leon answered.

"Never been better!" Ian insisted with a smile.

"Seems that way!" Medicham said. "Everyone's here, after all."

Gardevoir breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness..."

"What about the treasures, though?" Lopunny said.

"I think we left 'em in the cave back there, unfortunately," answered Medicham.

"That's quite disheartening..." Gardevoir replied.

Medicham turned to her left, as something caught her eye.

"Hey, everyone! Take a look at this!"

Everybody looked to their left next and were amazed at what they saw.

"Whoa! It's an entrance to another cave!" Leon exclaimed.

"The ground heaved up and a gap opened in the face of the cliff over there!" Ian explained.

There was now a giant archway that led into the new cave where it was originally just a wall of rock.

"That means that the tremor earlier must have revealed the true treasures that Regigigas and the others were protecting!" Gardevoir insisted.

"I get it now!" Medicham said. "That's exactly where they hid 'em! They're undisturbed!"

"This exploration turned out to be a huge success after all!" Lopunny said next.

Team Charm jumped in joy for a few moments, before they turned back to Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters.

"But the credit doesn't belong to us this time," Gardevoir began, "it belongs to both of you. Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters."

"**Us?!**" the five pokémon exclaimed.

"I'd say it does!" Medicham said. "The treasures in the new cave there all belong to you now! All of you have been extra special for this exploration, just like Wigglytuff back in the old days!"

Everyone had a laugh at the remark. After a few moments, they settled down, as Gardevoir turned over to her teammates.

"So, my fellow girls, shall we go on to our next adventure?"

"Yeah, let's do that!" answered Lopunny. She and the rest of Team Charm turned to the two teams once more.

"We enjoyed ourselves very much, Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters! It was fun exploring with all of you! If we keep up our explorations, we may run into each other again someday. Next time, _we _will be the ones to beat you to the treasure! For now, take care, and be sure to send our love to Wigglytuff!"

"It was also nice meeting you again, Ian, Charmander, and Chikorita!" Medicham said.

"**See ya later!**" the two teams announced.

"**Bye!**" Team Charm replied.

Team Charm left the two teams alone at the entrance of Aegis Cave. They turned to each other for a conversation.

"Man, that was like a blast to the past with Medicham and Gardevoir exploring with us!" Ian began.

"Yeah, I never expected them to come to the Grass Continent here along with us!" Charmander said. "That was quite a treat!"

"It sure was," Chikorita said with a big smile. "We totally had a fantastic time together!"

"I'm glad you guys enjoyed this exciting exploration with Team Charm!" replied Blaze. "They sure were lovely!"

"Well, guys," Leon announced, "it's time to head back home now!"

"**Yeah!**" everybody agreed.

They made their way back to Treasure Town to call it a day.


	6. The Nightmares

_**Chapter 6**_

_**The Nightmares**_

A couple of days have passed since Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters had their exploration with Team Charm at Aegis Cave. On one stormy night, the five pokémon sat on their beds and had a conversation with each other at their home in Sharpedo Bluff while it was raining outside with occasional flashes of lightning strikes.

"This storm, although scary, is a good refresher for all of us," insisted Leon.

"It's been a while since we had one here, after all," replied Blaze. "Now, Team Go-Getters, I know we mentioned this story of ours to you before...but our big adventure had involved me and Leon stopping the destruction of time from happening."

"Yeah," Ian said, "it feels like it happened such a long time ago."

"That's right," Leon responded. "Basically, Blaze and I went to the future once to see what a paralyzed world looked like, then we fought Dialga at the top of Temporal Tower to put the Time Gears in place to restore time and prevent its paralysis. Thinking about our adventure now really does make it feel like those things really happened a long time ago. Now that time has completely returned to normal, and peace has come to the world..."

The piplup realized something from his statement.

"Wait! That reminds me! Since time has returned to normal...it became possible for everyone to evolve at Luminous Spring again! Well, except both me and Blaze, unfortunately. When we were at the spring, the voice over there told us that we couldn't evolve because of a distortion in the fabric of space. I still have no idea what that 'distortion' thing means..."

"He's right," Blaze said. "Time may be back to normal, but there are some things that are still outta whack around here."

"Well, don't take it too hard, guys," insisted Ian. "I mean, look at us! We haven't evolved yet, either!"

"Yep! We still want to keep our adorable appearances intact for a while longer!" said Chikorita.

"Uh-huh!" Charmander said next. "Still being cute in your current evolution is what matters more than enhanced strength!"

"I guess so!" Leon replied with a smile.

"Me too!" Blaze agreed.

A sound of lightning startled everybody, as the storm got a little more intense.

"Boy! I think we better get to sleep right away!" insisted Blaze. "The storm's getting a bit worse around here!"

"I agree, Blaze!" Leon replied.

Everyone else agreed, as they said "good night" and laid on their own beds to get to sleep.

* * *

Elsewhere in a forest outside of Treasure Town, an unknown floating pokémon observed the town in the pouring rain…

"Things are proceeding nicely..." the pokémon said with a deep and ominous male voice. "This forest's distortion in the very fabric of space itself is growing. If the distortion itself expands further...my own power will be amplified! Even though I failed to destroy time...things will be much different now."

He sensed that another pokémon was coming his way.

"Someone is approaching me! It's Cresselia...the persistent pest who wants to foil my plan! I mustn't be caught...not ever!"

He floated away from the forest to escape capture from Cresselia, who appeared floating into the area. She had two purple rings around her body, with one on top and one at the bottom. Her stomach was colored purple, while her head was yellow and shaped like a half-moon. She looked around the forest for the mysterious pokémon, but to no avail.

"He got away again..." she began. "This is the closest I've ever gotten so far, but he always slips away. It may be impossible to catch him...but I can't give up now. He must be caught before the fabric of space is completely distorted, and before the world is thrown back into turmoil! I must do whatever it takes...to stop Darkrai!"

She floated away from the forest to continue searching for Darkrai…

* * *

The storm had cleared the next morning, as the sun shone brightly on Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters' home at Sharpedo Bluff. They all rose feeling refreshed and energized as usual, as they grabbed their belongings and got ready for another exciting day of exploration jobs.

* * *

Once the day had ended, the teams were fast asleep in their beds for another night. Leon, however, was starting to have a dream…

_He saw a colorful environment that had nothing else but a swirl of different colors that changed frequently in his dream._

"_I think I'm in a dream here..." he said._

_Suddenly, a pokémon with purple rings around her body appeared in front of Leon…_

"_Who are you?"_

"_I am Cresselia."_

"_You're Cresselia?"_

_Ignoring Leon's question, the lunar pokémon went on to say something ominous to the piplup…_

"_Your very existence is...pushing the world toward ruin."_

"_I'm pushing the world...to ruin?!" He looked absolutely shocked by her accusation. "How am I doing that?!"_

"_Because **you **are in this world."_

_Suddenly, Leon's vision flashed white as he cried out in pain._

"_...And you...exist here..." Cresselia continued. "If you remain here..."_

_Another flash occurred._

"_The world will be destroyed!"_

_Leon's vision flashed a couple of times before he screamed while a third flash ended his dream…_

He woke up by darting out of his bed as he yelped, panting heavily from the nightmarish dream he had. After a few moments, he calmed himself down and tried to process what had happened.

"W-what was _that_?!"

Leon looked around the bluff to see that everyone else was still sleeping soundly.

"Everyone's still asleep, I suppose..."

He sat back down on his bed to go back to thinking about the dream.

"Was that a dream that I just had? If it was...then it was an unusual one I had."

Leon shook his head.

"Well, there's nothing I can do about it… It's not even dawn yet...so I'll try and get some more sleep."

He lay back down on his bed and went back to sleep.

* * *

Another morning came, and this time, Blaze appeared to me more cheerful in saying his "good mornings" to the rest of the gang. Despite noticing it happen, they decided to ignore it and smile widely. They got ready for yet another day of exploration.

* * *

After today's explorations, the teams were once again in their beds sleeping during the night. However, Leon had yet another dream as he tossed and turned…

"_Oh no, not again..." he said._

_He found himself back at the colorful surroundings, as Cresselia appeared once more…_

"_You said you were Cresselia...right?"_

_The lunar pokémon nodded in agreement, as Leon spoke again._

"_Cresselia, please tell me more...about what you said last time. You said that my existence is driving the world toward ruin. What exactly do you mean by that?"_

"_You are a former human that came from the future. You are not of this world of the past, and therefore, you are creating the distortion in the fabric of space."_

_Leon was understandably shocked by another unbelievable accusation made by a pokémon who appeared to be nice..._

"_**I'm **creating a distortion...in the fabric of space?!"_

"_If it were to expand...this world would be ruined."_

_The piplup found it hard to fathom on the idea._

"_The distortion of space...w-will ruin the world..."_

"_You are a presence that must not exist in this world!"_

_Cresselia started to disappear from Leon's dream…_

"_You must...not...be here..."_

"_W-wait! Please, tell me more!"_

_She vanished from his sight, as Leon struggled to keep his dream going. Eventually, he fell asleep, but he had a hard time sleeping through the rest of the night._

* * *

The next morning, Leon felt Blaze trying to wake him up.

"Hey, Leon...c'mon, wake up."

The piplup slowly opened his eyes as his chimchar pal shook him a bit, urging him to get up.

"Wake up, pal!" Blaze said with a more urgent tone. "It's already late in the morning!"

Realizing this, Leon rose up quickly as he used his flippers to clear his eyes of the sleep he had left in him. He looked around to see that Team Go-Getters had appeared to already get a head start on their explorations today. The piplup then turned to Blaze.

"Hey, Blaze…where are Ian, Charmander, and Chikorita?"

"They already left and went to do their jobs today! They were worried about you, but I told 'em that you were eventually gonna be fine."

"Thanks for encouraging 'em..."

"Never mind that, Leon. Come and take a look at the sky!"

Leon had noticed that Blaze was again unusually cheerful than ever before, as he and the piplup looked out of the jaw of the bluff to witness the clear blue skies and the sun that shone brightly. After a few moments, Leon turned away to think about second dream he had last night…

_That dream felt strangely real… _he thought. _I was told that I can't exist in this world… In my dream...Cresselia said that if the distortion in the fabric of space expanded...the world would be destroyed._

A light went on in Leon's mind, as he had an expression of alarm.

_Wait! The distortion of space! We heard that somewhere before! It was at Luminous Spring where we were told that I was somehow connected to the distortion of space!_

The piplup had a somber look on his face, as Blaze turned back to him. Leon continued to think to himself…

_In that case…then what I heard about my existence ruining the world… Maybe...it could be true. Merely by existing here, I might cause the world's destruction. Is this what I am here…?_

Blaze snapped Leon out of his thoughts.

"Why are you daydreaming, Leon? It's not like you."

The piplup turned to the chimchar, as Blaze now appeared to have a big smile.

"C'mon, Leon! Let's see some energy!"

Leon decided to smile too, as he thought to himself once more.

_Blaze's even peppier than usual… but he could be right, though. It's still not completely certain whether I'll destroy the world or not! There's just no point in feeling sorry for myself...so I gotta cheer up!_

"I'm fired up for today's explorations!" Leon said out loud to Blaze.

"That's the Leon I know! Let's make this another successful day!"

Team Poképals went out of the bluff to try and get started for today's exploration jobs. As they got on the cliff and started to make their way into Treasure Town, Bidoof came running toward them.

"Hi y'all! Hold up! There's big trouble, by golly!"

He stopped in front of Leon and Blaze, as he panted heavily before he spoke again. He had a look of worry on his face

"I'm glad I caught you both! I reckoned you were about ready to go out for the day..."

"What's wrong, Bidoof?" Leon wondered. "Why are you in such a hurry?"

"Th-there's trouble afoot! Little Azurill...is in trouble!"

"**Azurill's in trouble?!**" Leon and Blaze both exclaimed in alarm.

"Yup yup! They brought him into the guild to try and see what was wrong with him!"

"Then we gotta hurry and get over there!" Blaze said with a determined look.

The three pokémon rushed to Wigglytuff's Guild to check on Azurill.

* * *

Once they arrived in the guild, Bidoof followed Leon and Blaze into their old room, as they saw a worried crowd gather around Azurill. Team Go-Getters was also there among the group, as they, in fact, did not leave for their exploration today. They were somehow alerted by one of the magnemite officers, also present in the room, to check on poor Azurill who was on a bed. Leon and Blaze got a closer look on him and were alarmed by his condition.

"Oh no!" the piplup began. "Will Azurill be okay?"

"I hope so..." Sunflora answered. "There seems to be no danger to his life, but..."

She tried to say back up her claim, but had no further explanation.

"What happened to him?!" questioned Blaze.

Marill turned to Team Poképals.

"He's been sleeping and sleeping..." he replied, "...but he won't wake up."

"**What?!**" exclaimed Leon and Blaze. "**He won't wake up?!**"

"Yes… I tried to wake him over and over, but he's still asleep. I got so worried for him that I brought him to the guild here."

Azurill tossed and turned frequently, as he moaned softly. He appeared to be suffering in his deep sleep.

"He seems to be tormented by something..." assumed Blaze.

"He's been like that the whole time he's been asleep," replied Marill. "It's almost as if he's suffering...could he be having a bad dream?"

"Hey, hey, that could be it," said Corphish. "The way the little fellow is tossing and turning, it looks like he's having a nightmare."

Team Poképals turned to Chatot.

"Hey, Chatot," Leon began, "do you know how we can wake up Azurill?"

"Unfortunately...I've got no fresh ideas too," the parrot replied. "To be locked in a nightmare...and being unable to wake for days on end...is honestly something I've never heard of before."

"Since he's asleep," Chimecho inserted, "we can't feed him anything like berries. We're simply at our wit's end on trying to come up with a cure."

"You'd think you could know a way of getting rid of a nightmare..." Corphish said.

"Uhhh...everyone, can I say something?" said a nervous Bidoof. Everyone turned to him.

"Whatcha got, Bidoof?" wondered Loudred.

"I've been thinkin'… Since we can't make the nightmare go away...if we somehow figure out what kinda nightmare he's havin'...maybe we can figure out why that little Azurill can't wake up."

"Oh, RIGHT! So we should LOOK into Azurill's dream!" Loudred got a little annoyed by Bidoof's suggestion. "How do we look inside a DREAM?!"

"Yikes! I'm sorry!"

"Actually..." Chatot cut in. "_That_ might be possible."

Everyone turned to him in alarm.

"**WHAT?!**"

"Hey, hey! How do we do it?!" questioned Corphish.

"We find Drowzee," answered Chatot. "If anyone can do it, he can."

"Drowzee, huh..." wondered Leon as he put a flipper on his beak. After a few seconds, he realized who that pokémon was.

"Wait! That's it! He's the first outlaw pokémon that Blaze and I managed to capture back at Mt. Bristle to save Azurill!"

"But...why Drowzee?" Blaze said.

"This is only a rumor," Chatot insisted, "but pokémon around here say that he has the amazing ability to enter someone's dreams.

Everybody was surprised by the parrot's implication.

"Really?!" exclaimed Leon. "He can enter dreams?"

"As I said," replied Chatot, "it's a strict rumor, so I wouldn't say that it's the truth. However, the possibility _does _exist."

"I get it," Blaze said. "So if we were to ask Drowzee...maybe he'll be able to get into Azurill's nightmare!"

Team Poképals turned to the magnemite officer.

"Hey, Magnemite," Leon began, "what became of Drowzee after you guys arrested him?"

Everyone turned to the officer as he spoke.

"He was subject to intense grilling by Sheriff Magnezone, as Drowzee expressed remorse and vowed to never break the law again. We released him as a result of that."

"Did he really straighten out, though?" questioned Corphish. "Hey, hey, it sounds sketchy to me!"

"Now's not the time to be quibbling over that, Corphish!" announced Sunflora. She directed her attention back to the magnemite officer. "Where's Drowzee now, Magnemite?"

"He has gone away to cleanse his mind and spirit at Mt. Travail." the officer answered. "He stated that he would study self-discipline there."

"Mt. Travail is located in the mountainous region," stated Chimecho.

"So that's where Drowzee is now," Blaze said.

He and Leon turned to each other with determined expressions on their faces.

"That's right, Blaze!" the piplup replied. "We have to go to Mt. Travail and get Drowzee to help us!"

"Leon and Blaze..." Marill said, as he had tears in his eyes. The always heroic duo turned to him as he continued.

"You always, always help us...thank you so much."

"Don't worry, Marill," Leon replied. "We promise that we'll come back with Drowzee so we can get your brother out of his terrible sleep."

"It's decided, then~!" announced Wigglytuff. Everyone turned to him.

"We'll leave this crucial matter to Team Poképals here~! I know all of you are worried about Azurill...but let's have Leon and Blaze handle it themselves. All of you should go on as usual~!"

Chatot flapped his wings as he turned to the crowd.

"You heard the guildmaster, everybody! Let's get to work~!"

"**YES, SIR!**" the apprentices cheered.

Wigglytuff turned to Team Poképals again.

"Remember, both of you are in charge of finding Drowzee, so don't fail us~!"

Leon and Blaze turned to him.

"**Understood, Wigglytuff!**" they both announced.

Everyone, except the magnemite officer, Wigglytuff, Chatot, Marill, and Azurill, left Team Poképals' old room. When they arrived at the main room of the guild's quarters, Leon and Blaze spoke to Team Go-Getters about the situation that was currently unfolding.

"Man, it's pretty awful that poor little Azurill has gotten himself into a nightmare he can't wake up from..." began Leon.

"Yeah, I wonder what it could be causing it?" wondered Ian.

"Guys, how did you get word of Azurill's condition?" questioned Blaze.

"That magnemite officer told us to come to the guild just as soon as we were leaving town," Charmander answered. "He alerted us and we went into the guild with him."

"Judging by the way that poor little guy was tossing and turning on the bed," Chikorita inserted, "I can only hope that it's not too serious..."

"Well, we better not dwell on it too long, guys," Leon announced. "We should both do our jobs today and get 'em done as soon as we can!"

"**Yeah!**" everyone else cheered.

The two teams went up the ladder to go up one floor to the boards floor. While Team Go-Getters stayed behind to pick out their jobs, Team Poképals went ahead and out of the guild to go to Treasure Town to prepare for their trip to Mt. Travail and find Drowzee.

* * *

Since this was a mission to locate Drowzee on Mt. Travail, Leon and Blaze themselves only went into the dungeon, so that the former outlaw would not be scared off. The dungeon itself had around twenty floors of mainly fighting-type pokémon, which had no specific advantages or disadvantages to the duo, so they were at least level in battle. Leon and Blaze, however, still needed to hurry up to the summit.

When they eventually arrived at the summit of Mt. Travail, they saw Drowzee staring out at the landscape in front of him. Leon and Blaze approached him and greeted themselves. He turned around and was surprised to see the both of them.

"Whoa! It's b-both of you!" Drowzee exclaimed. "What did you come here for?! I kept my nose clean! I've stayed out of a life of crime!"

"Calm down, Drowzee!" instructed Leon. "We're not here to arrest you again. We need your help this time."

"You need _my _help?"

"Yup!" answered Blaze. "Do you remember little Azurill?"

Drowzee nodded his head, as the chimchar continued.

"He's been locked in a deep sleep and won't wake up!"

Drowzee gasped in alarm, as Leon spoke next with a concerned expression on his face.

"No one knows why Azurill won't wake up. It was at the guild that you, Drowzee, can possibly enter dreams, and that's why we searched for you."

"So, Drowzee," Blaze said, "can you please help us?"

Feeling overwhelmed by the request, the hypnosis pokémon gave it a careful thought before he gave out his answer with a look of regret on his face.

"I...did a rotten thing to that little Azurill way back when… I don't know if doing this would ever make up for it...but if it would help Azurill even a little...I'd be glad to help. I'm not sure how useful I can be now...but I'll certainly be proud to try and help out."

Leon and Blaze had a big smile on their face.

"That's great to hear, Drowzee!" Leon replied.

"Then let's not waste any more time!" the hypnosis pokémon announced. "Lead me to Azurill!"

Team Poképals turned around and made their way back down Mt. Travail with Drowzee following them.

* * *

Back at Leon and Blaze's old room, Drowzee, examined Azurill carefully for a few moments, while the duo, along with Marill, watched anxiously.

"Okay, Leon and Blaze," Drowzee said after a while, "I want both of you to get stocked up for an exploration into Azurill's dream!"

"Yes!" Leon exclaimed in excitement. "We can do something about his dream, after all!"

"That's right! It's completely possible to get into his dream."

Team Poképals turned to Marill.

"Marill, we're about to tackle the mystery of your brother's unending nightmare!" Blaze said.

"That's great!" Marill replied with a smile, feeling cheered up.

"But I want both of you, Leon and Blaze, to be extra careful when you're inside Azurill's dream," warned Drowzee, as everyone else turned to him. "There's something rotten in there...and I have a feeling that's caused the dream to go bad, or worse than that."

"A-are you sure…?" questioned a concerned Blaze.

Drowzee nodded in agreement.

"Okay then," Leon said. "We'll be on our guard."

"One more thing..." The hypnosis pokémon added. "I want the two of you to enter the dream only. I'd go as well...but at my current skill level, I think I'd slow you down too much. I'm sorry I can't do anymore at this point, but..."

"Hey, it's fine!" insisted Blaze. "Sending us into the dream is more than enough!"

"Thanks for the help, Drowzee." Leon said. "We'll go and get ready for the trip into the dream."

Team Poképals turned around and made their way into Treasure Town to carefully prepare for the journey into Azurill's dream. They switched out some of their items by putting collected treasure chests away, and getting various food items to help out in battling pokémon that may be in the dream. When they got back to their old room, Drowzee transported Leon and Blaze into Azurill's dream, using his unique powers that Chatot talked about.

* * *

Once the duo was inside the dream, they could hear Drowzee's voice coming from above.

"_Leon! Blaze! Can you hear me? It's me, Drowzee!"_

"We hear you loud and clear!" the piplup announced.

"_That's good. It sounds like both of you are safely inside. As I've said before, there's something very bad about this dream. Now, I don't think I need to remind you...but be very careful in there."_

"Thanks for the advice, Drowzee!" shouted Blaze.

He and Leon turned to each other.

"Okay, Blaze," the piplup said. "Let's get deep within the dream and find out what's causing it!"

The chimchar nodded in agreement, as they both went deeper into Azurill's dream.

* * *

The dream itself was unusual, in that there was still a dungeon that Team Poképals had to navigate through in order to get into the deepest part to find out of what is causing it. There were just over fifteen floors of normal-type pokémon, which resembled some members of Wigglytuff's guild, albeit as negative beings that fed off from the dream. Not only that, but Leon and Blaze found their bellies emptying faster on every half mile they took venturing in the dream. They were thankful to have extra apples supplied in their team bag, just in case the trek in the dungeon took longer than they had planned.

* * *

Leon and Blaze eventually got to the depths of Azurill's nightmare, where they appeared to be in a never-ending wide hallway with purple walls and surfaces on each side.

"Looks like we've reached the deepest part of the dream, Leon." Blaze began.

"Yup. Let's look around for a moment..."

They browsed across the environment, hoping to see the source of the nightmare.

"Nothing yet," Leon said after a few moments, as he looked at what was ahead. "It appears as if it's just one long path from here..."

"Well, let's keep walking," suggested Blaze. "Maybe we'll get there."

Leon agreed, but just as he and his pal tried to go forward, the light in the area flashed black a couple of times, before it went completely dark.

"Ahhh! What's going on?!" shrieked Blaze.

An ominous voice began to speak…

"...You… How did you get here?"

"Be careful, Blaze!" warned Leon. "There's someone here!"

The piplup turned his attention to the voice.

"Who are you?! Show yourself at once!"

A couple flashes of white light occurred, then the entire lighting of the hallway came back, as Cresselia revealed herself! Team Poképals, startled by her appearance, jumped back a few feet.

"Hey! Are you…?" Blaze began.

"That's right...I am Cresselia!" the lunar pokémon confirmed.

_It's her all right…_ Leon thought. _She's the one from my dreams…._

"I cannot begin to understand how both of you have come here," Cresselia continued, "but nevertheless, I find your visit ever so convenient! I have longed to meet both of you!"

"So, C-Cresselia...about my dreams..." Blaze said. "They weren't just ordinary ones after all..."

Leon turned to his best friend in shock.

_What did you say?!_

"Then what I saw in my dreams..." Blaze continued.

"Yes," Cresselia said. "What I told you in your dreams is true...both of you are not supposed to exist in this world."

Leon turned back to her.

"What?! You told him that too?!" he exclaimed.

Blaze turned to his friend.

"I knew this was going to happen, Leon..." he said.

The piplup turned to him once again, as he continued.

"I suspected that you and I were having the same dreams! I went to the future...then I came back to this world...to cause the world's destruction! That's what Cresselia here said in my dreams!"

"It wasn't just me that had those dreams!" exclaimed a shocked Leon, realizing the truth. "You've had 'em too, Blaze! Cresselia said that you're another presence that must not exist in this world!"

The two turned back to the lunar pokémon.

"Excuse me, Cresselia," Blaze began. "Could you please explain something for us? It's true that I traveled to the future and came back again...and that Leon was a former human who came from the future...but I don't get the idea of us causing the distortion in the fabric of space in our world. If space itself becomes distorted...why will the world be destroyed?"

"If the distortion in the fabric of space expands," Cresselia explained, "the power of darkness will expand as well. This will lead to the eventual envelopment of the world in a nightmare."

"The world will become enveloped within a nightmare?" questioned Leon.

"Yes. Do you know where we are at this very moment?"

"In Azurill's dream?" Blaze replied.

"That is correct," answered Cresselia. "More precisely, we are in his nightmare. He will remain trapped by the nightmare...never to awaken again. This nightmare will eventually creep across the world. For now, only Azurill is afflicted with the nightmare...but soon, other pokémon will be drawn in by the nightmare's widening web. More and more pokémon will fall into this never-ending sleep, until ultimately, everyone will be locked in this nightmare without end."

Leon and Blaze seemed shocked by this unimaginable idea.

"**Everyone?!**" they bellowed.

"Cresselia, we want to know what it will take to get rid of the distortion in the fabric of space," Leon said.

"Yeah!" Blaze responded. "How can it be eliminated?"

"There is but one way to eliminate the distortion," Cresselia began to answer. "Both of you...must be destroyed!"

"**What?!**" Leon and Blaze announced with utter shock. "**Destroy **_**us?!**_"

"Long have I waited for this opportunity..."

Cresselia slowly started to get close to the two pokémon…

"My opportunity...to destroy you both!"

"Now wait just a minute!" Leon demanded. "We don't want to be destroyed! We just want to know more about what's happening!"

"Are you saying that both of you would rather see all of the pokémon swallowed up by the nightmare?"

"That's not...what we want..." replied a nervous Blaze. "Is t-this really true, Cresselia? If we're destroyed...will the world really be saved?"

"Yes. It _will _be saved. It is your existence only...that is driving the world to ruin!"

Leon and Blaze grunted in worry, as Cresselia got very close to them!

"Please forgive me...but this must be done! Prepare for your destruction!"

She reared back and got ready for her attack!

"The world must be saved once and for all!"

The duo prepared for their certain doom, when suddenly, a voice rang out, interrupting Cresselia's attack.

"_Hey, Leon and Blaze! Where are you?"_

The lunar pokémon grunted in frustration as she stepped back from Team Poképals.

"Curses! I was interrupted, just as my work here was nearly finished!"

She floated a few feet away from them.

"Even though I failed this time...I will see to the destruction of both of you! Of course, if you wish to save the world on your own...consider _eliminating _yourselves first. Farewell."

Cresselia vanished in front of Team Poképals, as they dropped to the ground on their backsides in relief.

"Man, that was close..." Leon said.

"There you are!" the voice rang out from behind.

Leon and Blaze got back up and turned around to see that it was Drowzee who came running to them.

"I-it's you, Drowzee!" the chimchar said. "What are you doing here?"

"Both of you were taking so long to come back that I got worried." the hypnosis pokémon answered. "I had to be brave and come looking for you."

He looked around the area before he turned back to the duo.

"There's something dangerous about this place. We shouldn't stay here much longer. Let's get back outside to the guild for now."

Leon and Blaze nodded in agreement, as Drowzee transported himself and the two out of Azurill's dream.

* * *

Not long after the three pokémon got out of the dream, the rest of the guild, along with Team Go-Getters, went into Team Poképals' old room to get the story about their trip. They explained to everyone what transpired in the dream for a few minutes, until Chatot spoke up.

"...I see. Both of you encountered Cresselia...and she said that Azurill's nightmare is caused by the distortion in the fabric of space."

"That's right," replied Leon.

"It nothing is done about it...all pokémon will join Azurill in a never-ending sleep. That's what Cresselia said, right?"

"Unfortunately, yes..." Blaze answered with a somber look.

Chatot flapped his wings in alarm as he squawked.

"If all of that is true...this is terrible trouble indeed! We have to do something!"

"So, Chatot, do you know about Cresselia?" questioned Leon.

"Yes, but I only know her from rumors only. From what I've heard, it is said that she appears only during the night of the quarter moon. It is also said that this pokémon can heal others' emotional scars simply with the gentle light from her body."

"But...she didn't sound so kind to us when we were in the dream, though!" insisted Blaze.

"There is one more thing about Cresselia," Chatot continued. "She is said to possess a mystical power that can banish darkness."

"The power to banish darkness, huh..." Leon wondered.

"Hey, hey! Let me get this straight," Corphish interrupted. "If we don't do somethin' soon, all of the pokémon in the entire world are gonna fall asleep forever? If that's so, it means we need to do somethin' now to fix the space distortion!"

Everyone had a comment or two about the idea in panic for a few moments.

"**Everybody, settle down!**" announced Drowzee.

The crowd quieted themselves as he spoke again.

"Now, Leon and Blaze," The two turned to Drowzee. "Did Cresselia say anything about how the distortion of space can be stopped?"

They were both alarmed by being asked that ominous question.

"**What?!**"

"Er...how to stop the distortion of space?!" Blaze nervously said.

"Whoa! Why are you being jumpy about this?" questioned Drowzee. "Was it something weird that I asked about?"

"N-no, it's nothing..." Leon insisted. "We were thinking about something else..."

"So, uh...a way of stopping the distortion of space..." Blaze said.

He thought hard about it, but he decided that he didn't want to reveal the terrible truth and solution to everyone here.

"N-nope! I don't remember Cresselia saying a single thing about that!"

"I see, then..." Drowzee responded. "That is rather unfortunate..."

"Not to worry, everybody~!" Wigglytuff announced, as they all turned to him. "We'll look into the distortion of space together~! If we don't we won't be able to stop the nightmare from spreading~!"

The guildmaster turned to Chatot.

"Chatot, wrap it up!"

The parrot turned to the crowd as he flapped his wings to dismiss them.

"Okay, everyone! We'll disband for the day. Starting tomorrow, you are to individually investigate the distortion of space itself!"

The guild members nodded in agreement as everybody, except Marill and Azurill, made their way out of the room to get rest for tonight.

* * *

When Team Go-Getters and Team Poképals got back to Sharpedo Bluff, it was already nighttime. Leon and Blaze waited for Ian, Charmander, and Chikorita to fall asleep, so that they could go to the top of the bluff to have a discussion to themselves only. The chimchar appeared to be ashamed as he first started the conversation with a grunt of frustration.

"When we were back at the guild...Drowzee had asked us if we knew how the distortion of space could be stopped...but I lied! I didn't even think twice about it!"

"We should know that there _is _a way to stop the distortion!" Leon replied.

"But...that's for us to be gone from this world," answered Blaze, with a tone of regret present in his voice. "I just couldn't bring myself to say that. I have to wonder now though...is this something we _really_ must tell everyone about?"

He turned away from Leon, who had a somber expression on his face. After a few moments, Blaze turned back to his best friend to continue their conversation.

"So, Leon...what should we do now? If we were to eliminate ourselves...would the world be saved? If that's the case...then maybe it's the right thing to do so..."

"Blaze, no!" the piplup suggested in alarm.

The chimchar simply grunted in frustration as he spoke again.

"I can't take this anymore! I just don't know what to believe at this point! All of this worrying has made me tired...so let's just go downstairs and get some sleep, Leon."

Blaze went downstairs into the bluff, while Leon stayed in place, worried and thinking about his best friend, and the situation that they were in…

_Poor Blaze...he's taking it quite hard right now. After everything we've been through today, this is only natural for him to be worried. Hopefully we'll find the right answers to our difficult problem, sooner than later…_

Leon finally decided to head into the bluff to try and get some rest.

* * *

After only thirty minutes of trying to sleep, Leon awoke in the bluff and sat up on his bed. He looked at his best friend Blaze, who appeared to be sleeping at least, before he turned away and thought to himself.

_I understand that we're causing the distortion of space...but how that leads to the world's ruin is simply unbelievable. I thought it was just merely something from a dream that first time...but then that second dream occurred. When I was told about the distortion of space...that was when I started to think that maybe it was true._

Leon realized something about the dream.

_Hey! Come to think of it, the morning after I had that dream, Blaze said to me that I was daydreaming and it was not like me to do so. He then told me to get energized, and that was when I noticed that he was unusually upbeat then! It was only because he had just woke from the same dream about Cresselia which I had! At that moment, Blaze must've been acting extra cheerful around me, because he suspected that I just had the same dream, and thus, tried to cheer me up. He had to be frightened by it, but he was much more concerned about me._

Leon then thought about what happened in Azurill's nightmare.

_What Cresselia said while we were in the nightmare, and what she tried to do...I felt crushed by that. But...that's why...I have to keep my spirits strong!_

He yawned as he covered his beak up with one of his flippers. He finally started to get tired as he laid back down on his bed again, and hoped to keep his spirits going strong.

* * *

After a few hours of rest, Leon woke up and realized that it was still dark outside. He looked around to see that Team Go-Getters was still asleep, but when he looked at Blaze's bed, he saw that his best friend was not there.

_Whoa! Blaze isn't here! Maybe he went to the top of the bluff… I gotta find him!_

The piplup went upstairs to the top of Sharpedo Bluff and saw that Blaze was standing near the cliff, staring out at sea. Hearing his best friend approaching him, the chimchar turned around to the piplup.

"So, Leon...you're awake too, huh?"

"Yeah...I couldn't get enough sleep at all..."

Blaze turned back to the sea as he spoke again, wearing a sad look on his face.

"Leon...can't we be allowed to stay? Can't we stay in this world?" The chimchar turned to his best friend once more. "When we fought Dialga at Temporal Tower...you did so even though you knew that you would be gone, Leon. Because even if you were to disappear...you thought that it would save the world… That's why you did it, right?"

Leon nodded in agreement, as Blaze spoke once again.

"Then if that's the case...maybe we should do that this time too."

The piplup now had a somber expression on his face.

"Blaze...it's true that I fought Dialga knowing that I would be erased from history if we succeeded...but that had to be done to prevent the planet's paralysis. Back then, I was willing to disappear if it meant saving the world. I feel the same this time too...but is this situation _really _the same? Something feels different this time around here."

Leon went closer to Blaze.

"Is that what you think, Leon?"

The piplup nodded in agreement.

"If so, should we still consider vanishing from the world?"

"I don't know, Blaze..."

The chimchar simply grunted.

"You don't know? You must be thinking that maybe we ought to disappear, Leon..."

"But something's weird about this..."

"What's weird about it?"

"Everything that Cresselia said to us..."

"What exactly _was _odd about what she said?"

Leon nodded, as Blaze spoke again.

"But we separately found out that we are causing the space distortion while we were at Luminous Spring too! If Azurill can't wake up from his nightmare because of the distortion...well, I think we simply have to believe what we were told."

The piplup grunted in frustration.

"I guess that's true, Blaze… But something...is different about vanishing this time around! I _know _something is different around here...but what could it be? Just give me a moment to think about it carefully."

"No problem, pal."

Leon turned to the sea to think thoroughly for a few seconds. Later...

_That's right! This **is **different from before! Back then with Dialga, my disappearance wasn't really a choice! I'll explain it to Blaze right now…_

He turned back to Blaze.

"So, Leon...what's exactly different this time?"

"At Temporal Tower, I was willing to disappear...but it's not the same this time!"

"What?! Really?!"

"Yeah, and I did what I did back there because I had to, just so I could change my future because I knew it would lead to world peace. My choice wasn't really the choice to be gone, though, and there's no telling what will happen this time if we both disappear now. We don't really know if that will bring peace to the world again, Blaze!"

The chimchar thought about what his best friend just said for a few moments before Blaze spoke once more.

"So what you're basically saying is that nothing about this is certain?"

"That's right."

Blaze had a sad look on his face again, as he was still unsure about all of this.

"It's true that things aren't completely certain...but..."

He turned to the ocean once again.

"It _is _a fact that you were a former human who came from the future, Leon, and that I did go there with you and then come back to this world. Adding to that fact, it does seem that, because of us, space has started to distort."

Blaze turned back to his best pal once more, as he continued to speak.

"There's just no escaping the fact that we changed history...so that _must _mean what we were told is true."

Leon had a hint of tears in his eyes, as he still felt that his best friend was still not convinced.

"Blaze..."

The chimchar looked to the view above Treasure Town, as he noticed that the sun was starting to rise.

"Leon, look over there!"

The piplup did as he was told, as the sun rose enough to make daylight come to the area. He and Blaze realized that it was now early in the morning.

"The sun's rising..." Leon said with a smile. "What a beautiful sight to see..."

Another thing came to Blaze's mind, as he spoke once more.

"Leon..."

The piplup turned to his chimchar pal, as he noticed that he had tears in his eyes.

"This s-sunrise here made me remember something, Leon...it isn't the first time that I saw it from here before. The f-first time it occurred...was when I was with G-Grovyle."

"Grovyle?"

"That's right. Remember when we first came back from the future and we slept here? This was when I saw the sunrise from here for the first time. I just remembered something about that then...it was something that Grovyle asked me."

Leon carefully listened to Blaze as he continued speaking.

"He said that when all hope seemed lost while we tried to escape in the future, I refused to give up. He admitted that he given up, so he told me how I managed to stay strong. I guess that struck him as being strange, so that's why he asked me why I refused to give up. But I didn't know how to answer...because I didn't know why I was brave then. I thought hard about it though, and I began to realize something…"

Blaze pointed to Leon.

"_You_, Leon. _You_ were the one that helped me to be brave because you were always with me. That was when I finally realized how I managed to stay strong, and that's exactly what I told Grovyle."

The piplup had a wider smile on his beak, feeling touched by his best friend's comment. Blaze turned to the ocean once more before continuing, as he had a somber look on his face again.

"Just before we lost him in the Hidden Land...Grovyle entrusted me with his last wish. He told me to watch your back, and that you and I were considered to be the greatest of combinations. Well, it's true that we _are _a great duo...but I'm letting him down on looking after you properly. I'm so ashamed of myself..."

Turning back to Leon again, Blaze had an expression of renewed hope on his face. He went beside him.

"So, Leon...if you're not giving up...then I shouldn't give up either!"

"Blaze!"

Leon had tears of relief and joy streaming down his face, as he ran up to Blaze to give him a nice, warm hug, which he gladly accepted.

"I'm s-so glad to hear that you're not giving up!" The piplup said in between sobs. "Thanks for b-believing me, little brother!"

"You're welcome, big bro." Blaze replied with a big smile.

They held each other for a few more moments, before they separated themselves and talked again.

"There's just gotta be a way of fixing things without us having to disappear, Leon!" Blaze said.

"That's the Blaze I know! We have to keep going, so we can find a way out of this tough situation!"

With that said, Team Poképals finally had their confidence returned. They went down the stairs to get ready to find a solution to the space distortion mystery that they were caught up in.


	7. Onslaught

_**Chapter 7**_

_**The Onslaught**_

The morning following Team Poképals' strong will to resist removing themselves from the world to save all other pokémon, they knew that had to find a different solution that would not be too deceiving. In this scenario, space is being distorted, rather than time being destroyed, but the endangerment of the world was still the same.

After they waited for Team Go-Getters to leave Sharpedo Bluff for today's jobs, Leon and Blaze talked to each other and discovered that Lapras, the blue transport pokémon, had given a lot of insight into Temporal Tower. They knew that she could know something about the distortion of space herself, so they went over to the beach and had a chat to her about this situation.

Just in case there was an exploration today, Leon and Blaze first went to Treasure Town to stock up on their items and put some of their money away, before they went on over to the beach outside of town. Later, they arrived, and to their relief, they found that Lapras was parked on the edge of the sands. They went over to have a talk to her as promised.

"Lapras, there's something we'd like to ask you," Leon began.

'What is it?" the transport pokémon wondered.

"We're investigating the distortions in the fabric of space," answered Blaze.

"The distortion of space itself..."

"That's right, Lapras," Leon said. "We'd like to learn anything that you might know about it."

"So can you help us?" Blaze said next.

Lapras gave it a careful thought, but she couldn't come up with any information.

"I'm sorry to say...but I know nothing about the space distortions."

"I see..." responded a disappointed Blaze.

"However...I _do _know of a being that embodies space itself," Lapras insisted.

"**What?!**" exclaimed Leon and Blaze. "**A being that embodies space itself?!**"

"Correct. Time and space are deeply connected. Just as Dialga governs time itself...there is also a being that governs the fabric of space."

"Who is that being?" questioned Leon.

"His name is Palkia," answered Lapras. "He is said to possess the ability to distort space itself, and that Spacial Rift is said to be his domain."

_So Palkia's the one who governs space, _Leon thought, _just like Dialga, who governs time…_

"If we meet Palkia," Blaze said, "we might be able to learn more about the space distortions!"

"How do we get to Spacial Rift?" wondered a hopeful Leon. "Can you travel over there, Lapras? Just like you did to go to the Hidden Land?"

"I hate to disappoint...but I can't travel to Spacial Rift," the transport pokémon responded. "I don't even know where it is. That is all I can tell you."

"Isn't that so..." replied a disappointed Blaze.

"I'm sorry, Leon and Blaze, for not being much help."

Leon shook his head and responded, "Hey, don't be too hard on yourself, Lapras. Learning about the existence of Palkia is a big help for us. Thanks for your insight. We'll go investigate on our own from now on."

"You're welcome."

With that said, Team Poképals left the beach and headed back home.

* * *

At the top of Sharpedo Bluff, Leon and Blaze had a conversation about what unfolded on the beach…

"Basically, Lapras didn't know much about the distortion of space," Blaze began.

"But she did tell us that Palkia controls space himself," Leon replied, "and that he dwells in Spacial Rift."

"If we can meet up with Palkia, we'd be able to ask him about the distortion of space."

"We still didn't find a clue to where Spacial Rift is, though..."

"Well, Leon...I guess there isn't any point in worrying about it right now."

"You're right, Blaze. We'll continue to investigate this tomorrow, but we need to get some rest for today after what happened last night...I'm still tired."

"I'm with you, pal! There's no giving up in our search now!"

Leon and Blaze went into the bluff and spent most of their day resting there after a sleepless night earlier on. Leon forgot to take off his Joy Ribbon, while Blaze simply left his Defense Scarf on around his neck, as they were too tired to take them off.

* * *

Later during the middle of that night, both Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters were fast asleep, when suddenly, an earthquake-like atmosphere shook the area, waking all of the pokémon up as they darted out of their beds.

"Whoa! What's going on?!" Leon exclaimed.

A blinding light came in the bluff for a couple of seconds, and when it disintegrated, a large pokémon appeared in the middle of the room! It had a white body, with pink outlines spread on some spots, two gems on it shoulders, with one on each side, and two spikes on its back. It looked at Team Poképals, who were understandably startled.

"**Who's that?!**" all of Team Go-Getters said.

"I have found you at last!" the menacing pokémon said to Leon and Blaze. "The defilers who are causing...the distortion of space!"

"**Who are you?!**"

"I am Palkia! I hold sway over space, and I have dominion over dimension!"

"You're..." Blaze began.

"...Palkia?!" Leon finished.

"Both of you cannot escape now!" the spacial pokémon responded. "This is the end for you!"

He roared as the gems on his shoulders glowed white, and he was later enveloped in a big bright yellow orb. He went towards Leon and Blaze and grabbed them, as they cried out. They, along with the orb, went out of the jaw of the bluff, and out of sight. Team Go-Getters could do nothing more but to wonder about this abrupt event that unfolded in front of them...

"Oh no!" Ian began. "Palkia took 'em away!"

"Did he say that Leon and Blaze were causing the distortion of space?" Charmander said.

"Yeah," Chikorita answered, "but what did he mean by that?"

"I'm not sure," Ian insisted, "but I hope those guys will be okay..."

* * *

Meanwhile at an unknown place, Palkia, along with Leon and Blaze, landed on a green, rocky ground. The duo looked around the area.

"Where are we now?" demanded Leon.

"This is Spacial Rift, my domain!" answered Palkia.

Team Poképals turned to him.

"**What?!**" they both exclaimed.

"_This _is Spacial Rift?!" Leon said.

Ignoring the last sentence, Palkia spoke again.

"You dare distort space...without my permission?! I will be rid of you _now!_"

"What do you mean by that?!" demanded Blaze.

Palkia approached the duo, as the stepped back in fear.

"This is the end!" he proclaimed.

He took a swipe with one of his claws at both Leon and Blaze, as they dodged and stepped back again!

"Whoa! What're you doing?!" exclaimed a shocked Leon.

He and Blaze looked back and saw that they were at the edge of a cliff!

"There's absolutely nothing behind us!" the chimchar announced.

Palkia roared as Team Poképals turned back to him. He went ahead and took another swipe at them as they dodged again but fell off the cliff behind them! They screamed out, as Palkia growled in frustration.

"They fell! However...there is no escaping _me!_"

He wrapped himself in a bright yellow orb as he transported himself away to search for Team Poképals…

* * *

Leon and Blaze fell for several seconds, until they landed hard on their backsides with a thump. They groaned in pain as they slowly got up and dusted themselves off before they turned to each other.

"Are you okay, Leon?" began Blaze.

"Yeah," the piplup answered, "I'm fine."

The two pokémon looked around the area to see where they were at right now, before they spoke again.

"It appears as if we landed somewhere else," Blaze said.

"But man, oh man!" Leon replied. "All of this is a complete shocker! Who knew things would turn out this way? I can't understand why Palkia suddenly attacked us back there!"

"He seemed to be bellowing about the distortion of space..."

"It looks like that was the case. He seemed to know that we caused the distortion of space somehow, and tried to attack us...but I just don't get why that was the case..."

"There's no mistaking one thing though, Leon. Palkia's trying to get rid of us."

"He might come attack us again, so we should get outta here ASAP!"

"I'm with you on that idea, pal!"

Leon and Blaze turned to where the exit of the room was and started to try and make their way out of Spacial Rift.

* * *

The dungeon of Spacial Rift had 25 floors of mixed type pokémon that Leon and Blaze both had to deal with. Having memorized the various advantages and disadvantages of those types, and their own, they had to be sure that one protects the other when he was at a defensive disadvantage.

* * *

When they arrived at the end of the dungeon, they tried to go further, but ran into a dead end in a room.

"Oh no! It's a dead end!" exclaimed Leon.

"What'll we do now?" wondered Blaze. "There's nowhere else to go!"

Suddenly, an earthquake shook the area, as they were both startled. A few seconds later, Palkia appeared right in front of them, forcing them to jump a few feet back!

"Yikes! It's Palkia!" Blaze announced.

"Your resistance is useless!" the special pokémon began. "Both of you will never escape from this place! I will reveal why… It is your fate...to be obliterated by _me!_"

Palkia roared as he got into his battle stance, while Team Poképals got into their own stances.

"We've got no other choice but to make him come to his senses, Blaze!" Leon announced with a determined look. "Are you ready?"

"I'm ready as I'll ever be!" the chimchar responded with confidence.

Just like that, the battle got underway!

The duel against Palkia was going to be tough as Team Poképals predicted. He had the Pressure ability, which would lower the frequency of the moves that Leon and Blaze used in this battle, However, with every prior boss battle that they experienced so far, the duo was absolutely confident that they would beat him without failing. Thanks to the extra elixirs that they supplied earlier on, along with items to hinder Palkia, Team Poképals managed to use every trick that they learned in order to defeat him.

Eventually, one of their moves staggered the spacial pokémon, as he was stunned from the attack. Leon and Blaze quickly turned to each other in response.

"Are you ready to unleash our best moves for the double finish?" Leon said.

"Yeah!" answered Blaze. "Let's end this!"

The two charged up their respective water and fire-type moves simultaneously for a few seconds, before they shouted their names…

"**Hydro Pump!**"

"**Flamethrower!**"

The beams shot out towards Palkia and made contact, as he roared in pain. After a few moments, the dust had cleared, as he laid down on one knee, immensely weakened by the moves. Not admitting defeat yet, he stood up and roared again, when suddenly, he froze. The light in the area also went dark.

"Whoa! Palkia stopped moving!" exclaimed Leon in disbelief.

"What in the world happened to him?" wondered Blaze.

"_Palkia has been enveloped by the nightmare,_" a voice rang out, "_just like Azurill._"

The voice startled Team Poképals, as they looked around to find its source.

"Where is that voice coming from?" Blaze said.

"Whoever you are, we want to know why Palkia's been enveloped in a nightmare!" demanded Leon.

"_It means that the power of darkness has spread so much farther,_" the voice explained. "_If its growth remains unchecked, the world will become drowned in darkness. Now...I want both of you to enter Palkia's nightmare._"

"**What?!**" exclaimed Team Poképals.

"Palkia's..." Blaze began.

"…Nightmare?!" Leon finished.

"_Yes,_" the voice replied. "_By entering his nightmare...you will learn why he attacked you. So...will you enter it?_"

Leon and Blaze turned to each other.

"Blaze, we need to know the truth!" the piplup began. "We'll have to enter the nightmare!"

"It seems that there's no other choice..." agreed Blaze.

"_Then it's decided,_" the voice rang out once more. "_I will transport both of you into Palkia's nightmare._"

Leon and Blaze were enveloped in a purple wave as they were transported into Palkia's nightmare…

* * *

They later arrived in the spacial pokémon's nightmare, as they saw that he moved again and was alive.

"What are both of you doing in my dreams?!" demanded an angry Palkia. "Wait, I remember! We battled! So why am I...dreaming?"

"You've been enveloped by a nightmare, Palkia..." Blaze answered regretfully.

"What did you say?! I'm...in a _nightmare?_"

The spacial pokémon roared in anger and disbelief, startling Team Poképals. He spoke again.

"This proves it! Both of you should not exist!"

He roared once again as he put one of his claws up in an attempt to attack the duo!

"Palkia, wait a second!" Leon pleaded. "We want to ask you something first! Why are you trying to get rid of us?"

The space governing pokémon lowered his claw and replied.

"You dare pretend that you do not know?! You are distorting space with reckless abandon! If the distortion spreads, the power of darkness will grow, which will drown the world in this nightmare of darkness! To prevent it...you must be wiped from this existence!"

"But there must be some other way!" Blaze insisted. "You govern space and dimension, don't you, Palkia? Can't _you _correct the distortion of space yourself?"

"It is true that I can bend space to my will...but for the first time ever, I am unable to control a part of space! Worse still, the distortion is amplifying...because of _you!_ There is only one way to save the world...that is for both of you to be erased from this world _forever!_"

Leon and Blaze turned to each other, with the chimchar starting to lose hope.

"Palkia is saying the same thing that Cresselia said, Leon..." Blaze began. "Cresselia _was _telling us the truth after all...maybe both of them are right about us...maybe we _do _have to be destroyed."

"Blaze, no!" the piplup exclaimed in alarm.

"I feel sorry for both of you," Palkia said, as the two pokémon turned back to him. "But this must be done to preserve peace...please understand."

"_There you are..._" a voice rang out. "_I've found all of you at last._"

A blinding light appeared in the room for a few seconds, and when it was gone, Cresselia appeared between the three pokémon. Palkia moved aside, while Cresselia examined the area.

"It's Cresselia!" Leon exclaimed.

"The spreading darkness engulfs even this place!" she said.

The lunar pokémon turned her attention to Team Poképals.

"Both of you must be eliminated as soon as possible..." She approached them slowly, as they backed away… "Before we finally pass the point of no return."

She got closer again, as Leon and Blaze backed a few more feet away. The chimchar was starting to sweat in fear.

"L-Leon...we refused to give up, and we did what we could."

Cresselia got even closer, as the duo backed away again.

"After everything we did...was it all for nothing?" Blaze continued.

Cresselia got closer to them again.

"Was all of our effort...a waste?" Blaze said to Leon.

"Are you ready to meet your doom?" questioned Cresselia.

"C-Cresselia...tell us one more thing," Blaze replied. "If we disappear...will the world _really _and _truly _be saved?"

"Yes. It absolutely will. The world _will _be saved. It's beyond a shadow of a doubt."

Cresselia lowered her stance, readying an attack…

"Are you finally satisfied now?"

"...Yes." answered Blaze. "If we really must be destroyed...to save the world..."

_No…_ Leon thought. _After so much...Blaze's will...is starting to sway._ _My own will is as well...but is this truly and absolutely the correct course of action?_

"Cresselia, wait," Palkia ordered. "Blinded by fury, I attacked them earlier...but upon seeing them now...they do not seem driven by malice or wickedness. In my dreams, Cresselia, you insisted that they were bad...but are they _truly _bad?"

_She said that about us in Palkia's dreams?! _Leon thought in alarm.

"Don't be fooled by appearances, Palkia," Cresselia replied. "If we get rid of them now...all _will _be saved."

_So just like we did, _Leon continued to think, _Palkia met Cresselia in his dreams...but now he's growing suspicious. Something is **very **wrong here! All of this is based on what Cresselia claims!_

"Enough talking!" Cresselia bellowed to Team Poképals. "I must be rid of both of you now!"

"Blaze...whatever you do, don't give up hope!" Leon said to his friend.

"Take _this!_" Cresselia said, as she started to attack the duo!

They closed their eyes, when suddenly, a voice rang out!

"Yes, that's exactly it! Never give up hope!"

Leon and Blaze opened their eyes, as Cresselia in fact never finished them off. They, along with Palkia, looked to the left as another Cresselia appeared! They appeared to be in utter shock!

"Is that another...Cresselia?!" Leon exclaimed.

The second Cresselia emitted a blinding light for a couple of seconds, and when it cleared, the first Cresselia was replaced by a mysterious black fur pokémon who had white hair, a red neck, and was floating off the ground.

"Whoa!" Blaze cried out, as he and Leon stepped back.

"Who is this?!" demanded Palkia.

The real Cresselia went in front of the mysterious pokémon and knocked it a few feet back with an attack.

"Excellent! I was just in time!" she said.

The black pokémon rose up slowly, appearing to be angry, and spoke with a deep male voice.

"Curse you Cresselia! I've been foiled, just as I was about to dispose both of those meddlers once and for all!"

"Everyone, please listen to me!" the real Cresselia said. "All of you have been misled all this time...by Darkrai there!"

The mysterious pokémon's name had been revealed to the three pokémon. Darkrai had been posing as an illusion of the real Cresselia, as they gasped in shock by the discovery.

"The Cresselia you thought you knew until now...was not me!" the lunar pokémon announced. "That false me was nothing more than an illusion made by Darkrai! It was merely a mockery of me!"

"**What?!**" Leon, Blaze, and Palkia exclaimed.

"The Cresselia we knew up to now...was just a fake?!" Blaze said.

Knowing what the chimchar said, the real lunar pokémon focused back on Darkrai.

"Darkrai, using an illusory duplicate of me to deceive others...is so typical of you! However, you usually never bring your actual self out of hiding! You normally operate under cover of darkness! That you'd personally emerge from the shadows to dispose of Leon and Blaze...is so very unlike you!"

Ignoring what Cresselia claimed, Darkrai turned his attention to Team Poképals.

"Both of you, behind Cresselia..."

"**Us?**" Leon and Blaze said.

"Correct. Pay close attention to me. The one who was truly responsible for exploiting the space distortion, and for shrouding the world in nightmare...is _my_ doing, and mine alone."

The duo, along with Palkia, were shocked by the discovery.

"What did you say?!" Leon exclaimed.

Darkrai ignored him as he spoke again.

"Both of you are more than welcome to try and stop me. Come meet me at the Dark Crater."

"Darkrai, you're not getting away from us!" Cresselia bellowed.

She went up towards him, but he emitted a black orb to transport himself out of the area. He vanished within a blink of an eye.

"Darkrai's gone!" Blaze announced.

"_You cannot catch me, Cresselia,_" The pitch-black pokémon echoed. "_Not ever._"

He turned his attention to Team Poképals once more.

"_Leon and Blaze...I will be waiting in the Dark Crater._"

They wondered about the name of the place, as their ordeal at Spacial Rift had finally ended.


	8. One Behind It All

_Music recommended to listen to for the following segments..._

_Cresselia Explains Herself - Welcome to the World of Pokémon! (PMD: Explorers games)_

_It's Okay For Us To Live! - 15 Years Ago (Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War)_

_We Have to Stop Darkrai! - Briefing 3 (Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War)_

_Cresselia Briefs Team Go-Getters - LRSSG Briefing IV (Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown), or Silent (final mission briefing theme) (Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies)_

_Exploring Dark Crater - Hush (Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown), or Avalon (Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War)_

_I Know You All Too Well... - In The Future (PMD: Explorers games)_

_How Odd Was That Accident? - Time Gear Remix (PMD: Explorers games)_

_Darkrai's Evil Wish, Leon Discovers How He Turned Into A Piplup...__ \- Hidden Highland (PMD: Explorers games)_

_Join Me... - Planet's Paralysis (PMD: Explorers games)_

_I Refuse to Join You!, Trapped!, The True Final Battle, Darkrai's Attempted Escape - Lost But Won (Rush 2013 film), or Zero (final boss theme) (Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War)_

_The Heroes Return, Thanks For Always Being With Me! - A Wish For Peace (PMD: Explorers games)_

* * *

_**Chapter 8**_

_**The One Behind It All**_

Broad daylight was at the main square of Treasure Town, as Team Poképals was finally back from Spacial Rift. Team Go-Getters, along with most of the guild members, were also present there, relieved that Leon and Blaze came back unharmed, as Azurill had finally awoken from his nightmare that he had been having for a while. He tearfully ran up to his big brother Marill to give him a hug, crying out his name in the process.

"I'm so glad you're back with us, Azurill!" Marill cried. "You woke up from your nightmare!"

"Yup!" the little brother said.

They wiped the tears off their eyes as they turned to Cresselia to thank her.

"You did it, Miss Cresselia!" Marill said. "Thank you so much!"

Azurill turned to Drowzee to thank him also.

"Mr. Drowzee, we have to thank you too!"

Everyone turned to the hypnosis pokémon.

"Huh?! Me?!"

"Yes!" Azurill answered.

"You stayed to take care of my little brother this whole time," Marill said, "so thank you very much!"

Drowzee seemed to be a little embarrassed, but he indeed felt touched by the thanks.

"Well...shucks, it's the least I could do."

Blaze turned to Cresselia.

"Cresselia, what happened to Palkia?" he questioned.

Everybody turned to her to listen to what she had to say.

"He is immersed within Spacial Rift...where he's attempting to take care of the distortion of space. As the being that governs space itself, he is staking his pride on success. Given that duty, I would not expect to see him manifest here again."

"That's remarkable!" Chatot replied with a big smile. "It's quite truly marvelous indeed, Cresselia~! We'd heard of your power to dispel darkness, but only in rumor. However, it was all true~! I must say, this is completely marvelous!"

"I understand it now," Leon said, paying attention to Cresselia. "You used your power when we were in Palkia's nightmare. That was how you pulled him and us out of the nightmare."

"Indeed," the lunar pokémon replied. "I _do _have the power to dispel darkness. It lets me dispel nightmares and awaken those in deepest sleep. Darkrai stands as an opposite to my being. He has the power to enshroud those who sleep in nightmare. Now, Leon and Blaze, do both of you recall where you met my impostor? What I mean by that is...the first Cresselia that you met. Those encounters were always within dreams, weren't they?"

"That's true!" Blaze exclaimed.

"The first time was in a dream," Leon said, backing up his little brother's claim. "Then later on, come to think of it...the second was in Azurill's nightmare. That time I wasn't obviously dreaming, so I guess it never occurred to me then...but I realized that was within Azurill's nightmare. So in other words, it _was _still in a dream. Then the next time we met, it was in Palkia's nightmare. We only encountered the fake Cresselia only in those dreams!"

"That's correct," Cresselia replied. "Darkrai has the power to create realistic illusions. What he was doing...was using his illusions to make you think you were seeing me. It was all an elaborate ruse to get at both of you, Leon and Blaze, so that your whole existences could be eliminated."

Everyone else was in utter shock by this idea.

"**What?!**" they said.

"Darkrai was planning to eliminate Leon and Blaze from this world?!" Chatot exclaimed.

"It's obviously shocking that he wanted to get rid of both of 'em," Drowzee spoke next, "but why would he plot something this complicated? Why go to all the trouble of using a Cresselia impostor? Wouldn't it be faster to confront those two directly in battle?"

"I would guess," Cresselia began, "that it was all out of fear of Leon and Blaze."

"Darkrai was afraid of _us?_" questioned Leon.

The lunar pokémon focused her attention back Team Poképals.

"Yes, because both of you saved the world once before. It was when you prevented the collapse of Temporal Tower. But...who was really the one that put the ruin of the tower in motion? Who was it that really sought to put the planet into paralysis? It was none other...than Darkrai himself."

"**WHAT?!**" everyone exclaimed in shock.

"Darkrai was behind the crisis at Temporal Tower?!" Blaze said.

"That is correct," Cresselia answered. "He intends to enshroud the world in darkness. He failed to do that with the prevented destruction of Temporal Tower, so after that, he turned his attention to the distortion of space itself. If it were to grow, Darkrai's power to create nightmares would also grow. What he sought to do was envelop all pokémon within a nightmare. It was all his doing...to make the distortion of space expand."

"Darkrai was doing that?" Leon questioned.

Cresselia simply nodded in agreement.

"I thought it was our existence that was expanding the distortion of space, though!" Blaze insisted.

"It _is _true that your existence is causing space distortion," Cresselia replied, "but the distortion you cause is extremely small. Furthermore, it won't expand on its own."

"Th-then..." Leon responded, with tears threatening to pour from his eyes, along with Blaze.

"That's right. The expanding distortion of space has nothing to do with you. It was blamed on you, however, so that both of you would be eliminated. It was all part of Darkrai's elaborate deception."

Team Poképals turned to each other, who were overjoyed and relieved by hearing the good news. Both of them, though still smiling, now had tears streaming down their face, as Blaze hugged Leon.

"Leon! I'm so, _so _glad that we're not beings that must not exist!" the chimchar said in between sobs. "It's all right to live in this world after all...we're not unwanted!"

"I'm also glad we never gave up, too!" Leon replied. "We just needed to keep going so we could live! Thanks for never giving up, Blaze!"

"I don't know what both of you, Leon and Blaze, went through," Wigglytuff spoke up, as the piplup and the chimchar, still holding on to each other, turned to him, "but it's just not possible...for either of you, to be unwanted in this world. If one or both of you went away...it would make me _very _sad. I think everyone at the guild would be sad too if that happened, so it makes us happy that you're still with us, Leon and Blaze~! That's reason enough...to keep existing!"

"Th-thanks for saying that, Wigglytuff," replied Leon.

"It's not just both of you...everyone here, and every other pokémon in the world...has a precious life that's worth living for! _Never_ think that you're not wanted ever again...and _always_ stay positive!"

Blaze sniffed as he spoke.

"Thank you so much, Wigglytuff."

He and Leon looked back to each other as they patted themselves softly to relieve the pain that they endured on being accused of the space distortions by Darkrai himself. After a few moments, they separated from their hug, wiped their tears off, and settled down. Corphish was the first to speak after a while, as he appeared to be angry.

"Hey, hey! Darkrai's nothing but a dirty and dishonest pokémon! What he tried to do with those poor kids is simply unforgivable!"

"He never comes out in the open," Cresselia replied, as everyone turned to her again. "He does his nefarious work from the shadows. If you confront him, he will always flee. That, is how Darkrai has always operated. But now, he's doing something very unlike him right now...by inviting Leon and Blaze to confront him."

"That's right," the piplup announced. "Darkrai told us back at Spacial Rift before he left that he would be waiting for us at the Dark Crater."

"Cresselia, do you believe that he demanded Blaze and Leon to come to him for a reason?" questioned Wigglytuff.

The lunar pokémon nodded in agreement, as the guildmaster spoke again.

"Do you believe it's a trap?"

"Yes. It is without a doubt, a trap."

Leon and Blaze turned to each other with determined looks.

"You know what to do, Blaze!" the piplup began.

"Right with you, big bro!"

They turned back to Cresselia once more.

"Hey, it doesn't matter if it's a trap or not!" announced Blaze.

"If we don't stop Darkrai," Leon said, "he'll smother the whole world with darkness!"

"**We're going to the Dark Crater!**" they both proclaimed.

"Okay then," Cresselia responded, "I respect your decision. I will accompany you. I have long been aware of Darkrai's scheme...and have pursued him for a long time to thwart his plan. But every time I caught up to him, he would elude me. This time...he will be waiting for us. I, too, would like to settle this once and for all."

Everyone else, including Team Go-Getters, also tried to pitch in to help in the capture of Darkrai.

"Everybody," Cresselia announced, as they quieted down, "I'm delighted by your offer to help, but I'm afraid that Darkrai would be scared off if too many of us were to go. This is a rare chance to corner him and stop his nefarious scheme. Please be content with just the three of us going."

The crowd groaned in disappointment, but they understood the situation. Team Poképals turned to reassure them.

"Don't worry, everybody!" Leon announced. "We'll be sure to defeat Darkrai and come back!"

They spoke out and cheered for the duo.

"Yes! You do that!"

"If anyone can, it's you!"

"All of you take care out there!"

"Thanks for the support, guys!" Blaze replied.

He and Leon, along with Team Go-Getters, followed Cresselia to Sharpedo Bluff.

* * *

They all arrived at the top of the bluff, Cresselia told where the Dark Crater was located. It was northwest of here, situated on a land of volcanic terrain. She told Leon and Blaze to go back to Treasure Town to prepare carefully. While they went there, Cresselia turned to Team Go-Getters.

"I see that three of you still want to help Team Poképals." she began.

"You bet!" Ian replied.

"Listen carefully, then…"

The three pokémon began to listen closely to Cresselia.

"You will come with us to the Dark Crater, where you three will all initially wait outside. When Leon, Blaze, and I arrive around the halfway mark of the dungeon of Dark Crater, I will signify, using my telepathy, that we did so and all of you will enter next. When the three of you get there halfway, wait there until we get into the deepest part of the dungeon. That is when I'll signify to you once more, so that you can get to us as quick as you can. Try to arrive at just the right pace so that we can corner Darkrai at the opportune time. He may have minions that are under his control, so be prepared to battle alongside us. Do you understand?"

"**Yes, Cresselia!**" Ian, Charmander, and Chikorita answered.

"Good. I will tell Team Poképals about this and let them know that you're willing to help."

They waited for a few more moments for Leon and Blaze to arrive. When they did, Cresselia told them all about their plan, and that Team Go-Getters would join them on their journey to the Dark Crater. When they understood this, they all made their over to the volcanic land where Darkrai awaited them.

* * *

The two teams, along with Cresselia, arrived at the entrance to the Dark Crater. As instructed by the lunar pokémon herself, Team Go-Getters waited outside, while Team Poképals and Cresselia went into the dungeon.

* * *

The dungeon of Dark Crater had close to thirty floors of fire-type pokémon, mixed in with a few ground-types. Although Leon benefited from the fact that he had no negative effect to fire-types, and he overpowered both them and the ground-types, Blaze would suffer from the defensive advantage against the ground-type pokémon. Knowing this, both Leon and Cresselia had to protect him from those pokémon.

* * *

Around halfway at the dungeon of Dark Crater, Team Poképals told Cresselia to use her telepathy to Team Go-Getters to remind them of their current position.

Meanwhile at the entrance to Dark Crater…

"_We're at the halfway point now," _Cresselia told Ian._ "Your team may proceed inside Dark Crater."_

The squirtle turned to his teammates.

"Okay, guys. Cresselia told us to go inside now, so let's get a move on!"

They followed Ian and made their way inside.

"Don't worry, Chikorita!" Charmander said to the grass-type. "We'll protect you in there!"

"I'm glad to hear that!"

* * *

Eventually, Team Poképals and Cresselia arrived at the pit of Dark Crater. Before they got to the middle of the room, the lunar pokémon quietly told the duo to stop for a moment.

"Okay, Leon and Blaze. Give me a moment to tell Team Go-Getters that we arrived at the deepest part of Dark Crater."

"Gotcha, Cresselia!" whispered Leon.

The lunar pokémon closed her eyes, and using her telepathy, she told the three pokémon outside to continue venturing deep within Dark Crater. When she was done, Leon, Blaze, and Cresselia all made their way into the middle of the room, as the light in the area got dark.

"_You've kept me waiting,_" announced Darkrai.

He appeared in front of them, as the light returned. Leon and Blaze stepped back.

"It's time to settle this, Darkrai!" the piplup announced with a determined expression on his face.

"I was waiting for you to say that, Leon. I know you all too well..."

"What do you mean by that?"

"When you first came to this world with Grovyle...both of you were caught up in an accident."

"An accident?" Leon remembered something from what he said. "Wait, that's right! Grovyle once explained it to me! He and I had an accident while we traveled back in time to gather the Time Gears!"

"Correct," Darkrai replied. "You became separated as a result of it. You were also transformed from a human into a pokémon...and you lost your memory as well. Has it not occurred to you as to how _odd _that accident was?"

"How...odd?"

"Yes. Think of how the accident occurred...precisely when you and Grovyle were traveling through time. Does that fail to strike you as odd?"

Leon thought about it carefully, but he couldn't dig deep enough in his memory to come up with an answer.

"Darkrai, you _know_ something about this?" questioned Blaze.

"Naturally," the pitch-black pokémon answered. "That very accident was caused by none other...than _myself_."

Team Poképals was shocked by the discovery.

"**What?!**"

"What did you say?!" exclaimed Blaze.

Ignoring what the chimchar said, Darkrai continued on.

"My wish is to engulf this world in darkness. I first set my sights on Dialga's Temporal Tower because of its tie to time...so I sabotaged it. That would have eventually led to the destruction of time...and ultimately, the planet's paralysis. However, you, Leon, and Grovyle, decided to meddle. I learned of your impending arrival from the future, and thus, I attacked both of you as you traveled in time...so that I would be rid of you. But an unforeseen event made it impossible to be rid of either of you. It should have been enough...especially for Grovyle."

"What exactly are you saying, Darkrai?" demanded Leon.

"Good question, Leon. Do you know how you came to be a pokémon?"

"Nope. I still don't know yet...so how?"

"During the accident..._you _shielded Grovyle from my attack."

Leon was in utter shock and disbelief at finding out the truth.

"I shielded him?!"

"Yes," Darkrai answered. "you absorbed the brunt of the attack that I'd intended for Grovyle. It appears that your fierce will to protect him became entangled with the many dimensions during your time travel. As a result, you were transformed into a piplup."

"I...did that?" Leon slowly questioned.

Darkrai nodded in agreement as he spoke again.

"I assumed what I did was sufficient. I thought that I'd rendered you incapable of preventing the planet's paralysis. However...I underestimated your resourcefulness. You met with Blaze here...and both of you managed to stop the destruction of Temporal Tower. Since I'd underestimated and disregarded how much you would meddle...my original plan ended in failure."

"_That's _why you decided to get rid of Leon and Blaze first this time," Cresselia announced, "so they wouldn't be an impediment to your scheming! You even tried to break their spirit...by using an impostor of me!"

Darkrai ignored Cresselia, as she continued to speak.

"Even now...you lured us here...so that you could destroy us all in one fell swoop!"

"Exactly," Darkrai replied. "I did indeed intend to do just what you say. But now...I've had a change of heart."

The three pokémon before him were alarmed by what he said. He spoke on.

"So...Leon and Blaze. Both of you are brave, and you've shown great initiative. It would be such a tragedy to be rid of you forever. Since both of you have shown so much promise...will you join me?"

"**What?**" Leon and Blaze said, stunned by the request.

"Join me in ruling a world full of darkness!" Darkrai announced.

"Are you crazy?!" exclaimed a bewildered Leon.

"It _is_ entirely possible if we three band together. So...will you join me?"

Cresselia turned to Team Poképals to urge them not to join Darkrai.

"Leon and Blaze...don't believe his lies!"

The chimchar appeared to lose hope, as he had a somber look on his face. Cresselia noticed this, as Leon turned to his best friend.

"Are you listening, Blaze?!" the lunar pokémon said in alarm.

"...Maybe Darkrai...is right," the chimchar responded.

"**Blaze, no!**" Leon and Cresselia exclaimed in disbelief.

"Who are we kidding? We don't stand a chance against him anyway! It's pointless to resist! Joining Darkrai...may be the best thing to do now."

"Wh-why, Blaze?!" demanded Leon.

Ignoring his best friend, the chimchar went up beside Darkrai to join his side. Blaze turned back to face Cresselia and Leon, as Darkrai had an evil laugh.

"You chose wisely, Blaze," he praised. "Very practical of you."

The pitch-black pokémon turned his attention to the piplup…

"Now, Leon...what will _you _do? When you are one of us...our first order of business will be Cresselia here, where we will get rid of her together."

The lunar pokémon turned to Darkrai in alarm.

"What did you say?!" she replied.

Darkrai ignored her as he talked to Leon again.

"Come join us now, Leon."

Cresselia turned to the piplup.

"Leon...whatever you do, don't leave my side!"

"Don't listen to her, pal," insisted Blaze. "Please come here with us. If you won't join us...Darkrai surely won't want just me...he'll destroy me."

Feeling understandably conflicted, Leon gave it a careful thought for a few moments before he made this difficult decision. He went in front of Darkrai, who laughed evilly, acknowledging that the piplup would join his side as well.

"It appears that you will join us after all, Leon..."

"The world of darkness is going to be wonderful, pal..." Blaze replied with an ominous tone.

"You see?" responded Darkrai. "Your trusted partner here has seen the truth. By joining us...you will reign as lord in the world of darkness."

Leon still seemed unsure about all of this, as Darkrai noticed.

"It seems that you still have not decided yet, Leon. This is your last chance...will you join Blaze and I in ruling the world together?"

The piplup closed his eyes as he thought to himself.

_I refuse to join! This is all...a nightmare!_

He opened his eyes up and attacked Darkrai with a fierce peck from his beak! He flipped backwards from the villain and saw that Cresselia, and more importantly Blaze, were right beside him where he landed.

_I was right all along! _Leon thought again. _I was being deceived! Darkrai was showing me an illusion! That was close!_

Darkrai grunted in frustration as he got back up from the painful peck he took from Leon.

"C-curses! I was on the verge of success!" the pitch-black pokémon bellowed. "Is that your answer, Leon?!"

"Of course!" the piplup furiously replied, "My best pal Blaze would _never _consider turning his back on me! I'll _never _join you, Darkrai! Not on my life! I'll never let a world of darkness come true!"

Darkrai simply grunted in response.

"So be it. You've made the wrong choice. I will annihilate all of you now."

He rose his claws up in the air as the area went dark again. After a second or two, his minions appeared, surrounding Team Poképals and Cresselia! They noticed that minions had red eyes, indicating that they were under the control of Darkrai himself.

"We're surrounded!" exclaimed an alarmed Blaze.

"I knew this would happen!" Cresselia said. "I knew that your minions would be lying in wait!"

"Like it or not, Darkrai...we brought backup too!" Leon announced.

On cue, Team Go-Getters arrived in the room, as the trio got into their battle stances, along with their allies caught in the middle.

"Don't count us out!" Ian said.

Noticing this, Darkrai responded with a laugh, as he spoke once more.

"It doesn't matter. Backup or not...this is where I will finally destroy all of you meddlers. When everything's said and done, I will seize control of the darkened world...as its king."

He looked at his minions.

"My fellow minions...**attack!**"

The true final battle between good and evil had begun!

* * *

Thanks to Team Go-Getters arriving in time for the much anticipated battle, Team Poképals and Cresselia found it less difficult to battle Darkrai's minions. Since he would use some of his moves in an attempt to make one of the opposing pokémon fall asleep to damage them using his Bad Dreams ability, the two teams all took Chesto Berries to prevent that from happening. Once one minion was defeated by a pokémon, he or she teamed up with another in order to make defeating the next a little more easier. This trend would continue, until Darkrai himself remained. He was surrounded by the six pokémon.

"Drat! All of my minions fell!" the pitch-black pokémon bellowed.

"That just leaves you and me now, villain," Leon announced.

"Leon, are you sure you want to take him on alone?" questioned Blaze, as he turned to the piplup.

"Of course, pal. After all, he's the one that caused so much pain to both me and you, and tried to attack Grovyle when we traveled back in time here. I wouldn't let that happen, of course...and not to anyone else for that matter."

"Okay, big bro! I believe in you! Go get him!"

Blaze, along with Cresselia and Team Go-Getters, stepped aside so Leon could battle Darkrai alone. They cheered him on, as the pitch-black pokémon spoke.

"You really are a young fool to think you could take me on alone," the villain insisted. "You will regret not having friends beside you for trying to defeat me."

"I've grown much, _much _stronger thanks to my handy Joy Ribbon I have on right now," replied Leon. "You _will_ feel just how awesome I am right now."

The cheering pokémon smiled at his comment, admiring his bravery.

"Very well, Leon." Darkrai announced. "Let our duel begin!"

He and the piplup charged at each other, with Leon using Drill Peck, and Darkrai using Quick Attack. As the two moves clashed, Leon had the advantage as he hit Darkrai multiple times with the move, sending him a few feet backwards into the ground. He rose back up, as he grunted in frustration and resumed the battle.

The two pokémon would clash with each other, with one move making occasional contact with the other. Leon, of course, had outside assistance. He had Blaze and Team Go-Getters tossing various healing items to him whenever he was in trouble.

After a few moments, Leon used Fury Attack on the weakened Darkrai, as he got hit five times in succession from the flurry of pecks that the piplup laid on him. He held his head as he got dazed. Realizing that Darkrai was about to lose the battle, Leon prepared a combo of moves to finish the villain off.

"Here it goes! **Whirlpool!**"

He shot a swirl of water from his beak to surround Darkrai into a vertical whirlpool that spun him around for a few moments, damaging him from the contact he took from the occasional waves of water. Leon charged up his second move while this happened. When the whirlpool disappeared, Darkrai flew down to the ground, as Leon's move had almost completed charging.

"This is for Blaze, Grovyle, Azurill, and for everyone else in the world!" the piplup announced. "**Hydro...PUMP!**"

He shot out a powerful beam of water that hit Darkrai dead on at the right time, sending him a few feet back and onto the ground. Once the dust settled, he lay on the ground for a few moments, until he rose up slowly, while being in immense pain.

"He did it!" Blaze cried to the cheering pokémon beside him.

He and the others stepped forward to Leon, with Cresselia approaching Darkrai.

"It's over, Darkrai!" she announced. "You have lost! Your world of darkness will never come true now!"

The villain let out a weak evil laugh as he spoke.

"D-don't you remember, Cresselia? You can _never _catch me!"

His blue eyes glowed bright for a couple of seconds, as a familiar portal appeared behind him!

"It's a dimensional hole!" Leon announced. "That coward's trying to escape once more!"

"This portal may take me to the future...or the past," Darkrai said, "I don't know where it will take me...but I _will _simply plunge the world into darkness in another time!"

"Don't you dare escape, Darkrai!" ordered Blaze.

"You're not getting away again!" bellowed Cresselia.

Darkrai got closer to the dimensional hole, as the six pokémon could only watch helplessly.

"Too bad for all of you," he said. "I can slip away through time with just one step. You will _never_ catch me."

Everyone grunted in frustration, as Darkrai laughed evilly and spoke again.

"Finally, in the end of it all...it ends in my ultimate victory!"

"_I will not allow that!_" a voice suddenly rang out.

Everybody wondered whose voice it was, when suddenly, the ground shook. A blinding light covered the area for a few seconds, and when it cleared, Palkia appeared to the right of Darkrai! He looked furious as he focused on the pitch-black pokémon.

"It's Palkia!" Leon announced.

"You will pay a grave price for expanding the distortion of space, Darkrai!" the spacial pokémon bellowed. "This is a strike for justice! Take _this!_"

He roared as he charged up something from his mouth, shaking the area again. Darkrai, being in absolute fear, went into the dimensional hole in an attempt to escape from this time period!

"There is no escape!" announced Palkia.

He shot out an orb at the portal, as Darkrai screamed in immense pain from the attack! The dimensional hole turned gray, as it shattered into oblivion.

"The portal completely shattered while Darkrai was still inside it!" Leon exclaimed in shock.

"I...heard him scream," a concerned Blaze said. "Is he gone forever?"

Palkia turned to him and the group to answer.

"No. That has not happened."

Everybody turned to the spacial pokémon as he continued to speak.

"He has suffered grievous damage...and been banished to some unknown place. But wherever he may be...he lives."

Blaze, understanding what it meant, realized something else in alarm.

"When Darkrai recovers from his injury...won't he go back to his wicked ways?!"

Cresselia turned to Team Poképals.

"That remains to be seen," she answered, as Leon and Blaze turned to her. "Because when Darkrai entered the dimensional hole, he began to time travel. At that precise moment, he was struck with Palkia's attack."

The lunar pokémon focused on the piplup.

"Now, Leon...do you remember what Darkrai said about your arrival from the future?"

He nodded in agreement.

"He attacked you during time travel, and as a result, you got hit with amnesia. So just like you, Leon...it's very certain that Darkrai has lost his memory as well."

"He's lost his memory?!" the piplup exclaimed.

"Yes," answered Cresselia. "He will likely never recover his memory...and will be left to wander lost through the world."

"I see..."

"We are done with Darkrai," Palkia announced. "He will not likely expand the distortion of space ever again."

Everyone turned to him once more.

"I shall now return to Spacial Rift. I foresee no reason to ever return here...so farewell."

The spacial pokémon roared as he transported himself out of the Dark Crater. Cresselia turned back to everyone else once more, as they paid attention to her.

"Well, that is that. Shall we also go back, now?"

"Yeah!" Leon agreed with a smile. "Let's get outta here!"

"I couldn't agree more, Leon!" Blaze happily replied.

"Let's get back home to Treasure Town, guys!" Ian announced.

With that said, everyone made their way out of Dark Crater.

* * *

Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters received a hero's welcome once they got back to the main square of Treasure Town. The guild members, including other friends like Spoink, Drowzee, Marill, and Azurill, were all overjoyed as they surrounded the five pokémon to praise them for stopping Darkrai, the pokémon who was the cause of putting the world in danger twice, once and for all. After a few moments of the two teams' heartfelt return, everyone went into Spinda's Café to celebrate further for the rest of the day.

* * *

After the party at the café had ended, sunset had arrived, and Team Poképals went to the beach themselves to spend some time alone. They told Team Go-Getters that they would be back at Sharpedo Bluff later on, as Leon and Blaze sat close to each other on the beach, staring out into the ocean and looking at the setting sun. The krabby were blowing bubbles as usual during this time, and the waves of water gently crashed onto the surface. After a few moments, they looked at each other with big smiles on their faces and started a conversation.

"I was so heartfelt at the way everybody was thrilled by our return once we defeated Darkrai," Leon began.

"Yeah," Blaze replied, "he fully fooled us, and we'd believe that neither of us had a place in this world...but when everyone at the main square surrounded us, and were all glad and relieved to us back...that's when we finally thought that it was indeed wonderful to be alive."

"We also saw little Azurill completely healthy and awake since he woke up from his nightmare, and I was very glad to see that everyone was doing just fine."

"It's just like Wigglytuff said to us, Leon...every pokémon in the world exists for a reason."

"You're right, Blaze. Even those that mean harm to others...including Darkrai himself."

Despite Darkrai having caused everyone pain for the two times he threatened to destroy the world, Team Poképals would rest easy, knowing that his memory loss meant that he would no longer cause further harm for the foreseeable future ahead. Leon and Blaze continued their discussion.

"So, Leon," Blaze said, "after all of this, my adventures with you will continue...right?"

"Of course, pal. We'll see many things, and we'll make new discoveries. We may not still be able to evolve at Luminous Spring yet...but it doesn't matter! We can exist here, _and _we can live here! That alone is something we should be happy and grateful about! _That_...is what we finally learned."

"Yes! That's exactly it, Leon! Thanks for always being with me to this point!"

Blaze, having said that, gave his best friend and big brother a hug. They closed their eyes, and had bigger, wider smiles from the heartwarming talk they had. They knew that their days of exploration and their unbreakable friendship would last forever.

Leon and Blaze spoke once more, while they continued to hug each other.

"Blaze...you're the bestest pal and little brother I could ever have in my life. Thank you so, _so_ much for sticking with me as well."

"I wouldn't have it any other way, big bro."


	9. Reunions and Stories

_**Epilogue**_

_**Reunions and Stories**_

After several days in a row of having to deal with and foil the space distortion madness that was caused by Darkrai, Team Poképals, along with Team Go-Getters, got a much deserved rest. While Leon and Blaze rested with Ian, Charmander, and Chikorita for a few days at Sharpedo Bluff, their respective recruited teammates took jobs for them in order to raise their ranks. Life was finally peaceful at the Grass Continent, and the whole pokémon world for that matter, now that there were no more evil threats that would threaten everyone for a long time.

During one of those days, Cresselia visited the bluff to ask if she would be of service to both of the teams, and they happily accepted. Since her service to them for saving the world was very grateful, despite for only a few days, they figured that having her for exploration duties for the rest of the way would be exciting.

* * *

Days later, Leon, Blaze, Ian, Charmander, and Chikorita had decided that they had gotten enough rest from saving the world again, as they gathered their items, put their signature ones on, and headed out of the bluff. Suddenly, just as they were about to make their way into Treasure Town, Chatot came running to them, as he appeared to be out of breath.

"Whoa! What's the rush, Chatot?" asked Leon.

The parrot, gasping for breath, tried to explain himself to the piplup and company.

"The beach...at the beach..."

"What's wrong with the beach?" Blaze wondered.

Chatot gathered himself and revealed his news to them.

"It's Manaphy! He came back!"

The two teams jumped up at this amazing news!

"What?!" exclaimed Ian in alarm. "You mean _the _Manaphy we looked after?!"

"That's him! That's the one!" replied Chatot.

"Then what are we waiting for, guys?!" Leon said to the gang behind him. "Let's hurry on over to the beach!"

Everyone nodded in agreement as they ran across the town towards the beach.

* * *

When they got to the beach, they recognized the figure of the little guy, though he had grown just a little by size. The one pokémon the two teams had tried so hard to raise despite being in a wrong environment...Manaphy. He stared out at sea, until he turned around to everyone that made footsteps towards him. His eyes rose, and his mouth opened wide in amazement, by seeing the pokémon he was raised by again. He had not seen them around two months or so, as they approached him.

"Manaphy," Leon began, "is that really you?"

"Y-yes, it's me, g-guys!" the seafaring pokémon answered, with tears in his eyes.

Blaze, along with everyone else, had tears threatening to pour from their eyes as they approached Manaphy.

"You're really...that little Manaphy?" asked Ian.

"Yup!" the seafaring pokémon answered. "I grew big in the sea! It's all because of you, Leon, Blaze, Ian, Charmander, and Chikorita!"

"Oh, you _do _remember us!" Blaze replied, as tears began to stream down his face.

"Of course! I didn't forget all of you guys! Not once...and not ever! I missed you all!"

Everyone else started to cry happily as they ran up to Manaphy to give him the biggest hug they had waited for since he left with Walrein months ago. Not caring for anything else in the world at the moment, they held onto each other like there was no tomorrow for several minutes. Eventually, they separated themselves and the two teams and Chatot followed Manaphy to Sharpedo Bluff.

* * *

When they all arrived there, the seafaring pokémon looked around the familiar bluff that he was raised in from when he first hatched from his egg.

"Boy, oh boy...I remember this place very well," he began.

Manaphy turned to Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters to ask them a question.

"I hatched here, didn't I?"

"Yup, you're right," Leon answered. "This is where we all came to know each other."

"I'm surprised you still remember that," insisted Blaze.

"We manaphy have the ability to remember where we hatched," replied Manaphy. "After we grow up in the sea, we go back to where we hatched by instinct. That's what Mr. Walrein taught me."

"That's awesome!" Ian said.

"I felt the urge to come back here because it's where I hatched, of course," Manaphy said.

"And now that you've returned, Manaphy," Chatot began to ask him, as he turned to the parrot, "what will you do now?"

"I was told that I have to decide that on my own."

Manaphy turned back to the two teams to ask them something very important.

"So guys, I thought really, really hard about this and other things...and I'd like to return the favor to all of you. Don't you travel and explore all over the world? I really wish I could help you when you go out on your adventures. So, ummm...may I please be a member of both Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters?"

The five pokémon looked to be unsure of what he just requested.

"D-don't worry, I'm grown up! I won't get sick like before!"

They stayed still again, as Manaphy had a somber expression on his face.

"You don't...want me?"

The five pokémon had tears streaming down their faces again, as they smiled.

"N-no, of course not! We want you to stay with all of us!" Leon began.

"You're welcome to be a part of both of our teams from now on!" announced Ian.

"Really?!" Manaphy replied in joy. "Yay, I did it!"

He floated around in circles, looking as if he jumped around in joy. He was very happy indeed to now be a part of both of the teams.

"I'll do my best to make all of you guys proud!"

With that said, both Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters got the spare bed that Manaphy slept on back out.

"Thanks for saving my bed after all this time! I really appreciate it!"

"Not a problem, little bro!" Leon replied.

"Does that mean…?"

"Yeah! You're officially a part of our big family now, Manaphy!" Blaze announced.

"You get to have four big brothers and a sister to look after you now!" Ian said.

"We'll be a loving family, no matter what!" Chikorita spoke next.

"You'll get to have a great time with us from now on!" Charmander said last.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Manaphy replied with pure joy.

He gave each of the pokémon a hug, overjoyed by not only being a member of both Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters now, but by being a part of the extended family in the bluff. Next, he requested that he see the members of Wigglytuff's Guild again, so they agreed and took him to the guild.

* * *

Before they arrived there, everyone at Treasure Town was also overjoyed that Manaphy had come back here. They knew that he would be sticking around for a long time now, as he and the two teams, along with Chatot, made their way into the guild. The members there could not wait to play with Manaphy once he arrived, so they spent time and took turns playing with him for a few hours.

* * *

Once their stay at the guild was done, Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters took Manaphy over to Spinda's Café so they could make a special drink for him.

"Hey, Manaphy," Leon began. "Guess what time it is!"

"Yummy drink time?" asked the seafaring pokémon

"Not just that, little pal," Blaze replied. "It's from your favorite food..."

"You're having a blue gummy smoothie!" Ian answered.

"Hooray! A blue gummy smoothie, just for me!" Manaphy exclaimed.

Leon took a blue gummy out of his team's bag and gave it to Spinda, who put it in one of his juice bar mixers to make a smoothie out of it. He put it in a cup and gave it to an excited Manaphy, who grabbed it and took a sip from it. Once it went into his body, he tasted it and was very happy about the results.

"Yay! What an awesome drink I had from my favorite gummy in the world!" he announced. "Thanks, you guys!"

Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters had wide smiles thanks to Manaphy enjoying the special smoothie he had in honor of his return. They would stay in the café to have supper later on.

* * *

Once everyone's supper was done, they went to the beach at sunset to enjoy the rest of their remaining day they had left. While Leon and Ian swam with Manaphy in the water, Blaze, Charmander, and Chikorita built sand castles that the seafaring pokémon could admire and enjoy later on. While all of this was happening, a dimensional hole suddenly appeared near the spot where Leon first came, and when he was revived after saving the world once. He, Ian, and Manaphy came back onto the sandy surface to watch the portal, as everyone looked to it in amazement.

"Whoa!" Leon exclaimed. "It's a dimensional hole!"

"I wonder who might be coming out of there?" Blaze wondered.

They waited for a few moments, then later, two familiar pokémon to Team Poképals came out from the dimensional hole. It was Grovyle and Celebi, both of whom Leon and Blaze thought they would never see again.

"**Grovyle! Celebi! It's so good to see you again!**" they shouted, with wide smiles on their faces.

"It's not just us," Grovyle replied, "we brought someone else who owes an apology."

He and Celebi turned to the portal while they stepped aside, as Dusknoir had also came out from the dimensional hole. The portal behind them closed, as Dusknoir himself spoke to Leon and Blaze.

"Team Poképals, I believe I have some explaining to do. Not just to you both, but to everyone else."

"Of course, Dusknoir," Leon replied. "We'll listen to what you have to say for yourself. First, we'll get to Sharpedo Bluff first for tonight so that you can explain to us first, then tomorrow, you can explain it to everybody else."

"It might be tough to explain, but I'll do my best. Besides, both Grovyle and Celebi here will help me out as well."

After Dusknoir finished talking, Leon and Blaze ran up to Grovyle to give him a heartfelt hug first before everyone made their way to Sharpedo Bluff.

* * *

As they made their way to the bluff, they were relieved that no one was in Treasure Town at the time, since someone seeing Dusknoir meant that they would approach him with a not-too-friendly atmosphere, considering that he had deceived them several months ago. He would have to apologize to the pokémon around here tomorrow, as night had arrived. Everyone put away their straw beds so that they could gather around a small campfire in the bluff to begin listening to Dusknoir explain his story, with Grovyle and Celebi helping him do so.

"When we got back to the future," he began, "my sableye minions had betrayed me, and began working for my former master Dialga. He ordered them to bring me and Grovyle for our destruction, and it was at that point that I had no choice but to team up with Grovyle so that we could find out what was the reason behind this."

"Dialga wanted the Passages of Time destroyed so that time would completely go out of control not only for the future, but for all other time periods as well," Grovyle said. "He destroyed the first one already, and that was when Dusknoir himself considered if what he was doing was right at all. I told him that it was not, since he was following his former master's orders to preserve the end of the world. I also told him that there would be no meaning and shine to his life if he lived long by following the out of control Dialga, rather than living a short one by saving pokémon and being remembered for his bravery."

"I eventually listened to what Grovyle said to me, and he, Celebi, and myself, teamed up to stop Dialga from destroying the second Passage of Time at the Vast Ice Mountain to prevent the unimaginable from happening. We were able to defeat him at the last possible moment, as we began to fade from history. Before I faded away, I asked Grovyle if my life shined..."

"I said yes to Dusknoir. It did extraordinarily shone for him, and was glad to hear so. He had no regrets in finally doing the right thing, as he faded away. I turned to Celebi next, as time began to resume in the future. We saw the morning sun, as I held onto her while we were the next ones to presumably fade away."

"I did see the sun with my own eyes," Celebi said, "and it was the first time in a while, if ever, that I saw the beautiful sight for myself. I had no idea that it felt so warm, and I was very glad to witness it. Before Grovyle and I thought to have faded away...I told him that I loved him with all my heart."

Team Poképals, Team Go-Getters, and Manaphy had tears threatening to pour from their eyes, but they gathered themselves and still smiled as the story continued.

"The next thing we knew," Dusknoir said, "we all came back to existence and woke up at that same mountain. I was honestly shocked to discover that I didn't disappear, but on the inside, I knew that I felt grateful that I had a second chance in life so I could redeem myself for what I've done earlier."

"We all thought that if history was changed," Grovyle inserted, "it would be the end of all of us..."

"But thankfully, it never happened!" Celebi exclaimed happily. "It was very wonderful to see that everyone was alive and doing well!"

"It was then that Dialga told us that a being higher than him used his power to stop all of us in the future from being erased from history," explained Grovyle. "I wondered how Team Poképals was doing, so I sent a message within the wind to tell them that we were truly alive."

"Oh yeah!" Leon exclaimed in realization. "Blaze and I heard your message, Grovyle, when Team Go-Getters first settled into the bluff when they arrived! We knew by then that all of you were safe and sound!"

"And now," Blaze said, "it's been confirmed right before our eyes! We're so glad that you came back to us!"

"I couldn't agree more," Grovyle replied with a big smile on his face. "Once we were mostly done rebuilding the world of the future, Dialga allowed us to travel and live here so that the pokémon back in the future could continue the efforts. It was the first thing that came to our minds when it was all said and done."

"Now we're one big happy family!" Ian announced. "There's _nine _of us living in the bluff now!"

"Our home here might be kinda small, considering how much more of a family we have here right now," Leon replied, "but it doesn't matter! We're all grateful to have each other at last!"

Everyone agreed to his heartfelt statement. They all yawned in unison, finally getting tired from the story and the conversations they had for tonight. The piplup began to wrap up their chat.

"Well, guys...it's getting late for all of us. It's time to hit the hay."

"Yup. I agree, big bro," Blaze replied.

"Let's have another exciting day in explorations tomorrow, everybody!" Ian announced.

Everyone put out the campfire and got out the straw beds. They realized that since there would be so many beds around, that there would not be enough room in the bluff. They decided to combine some into a big beds so that a group slept close to each other. Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters had three of their own beds combined, while Grovyle, Celebi, and Dusknoir only needed two small ones to sleep on. The end result meant that while Dusknoir slept on a bed himself, Grovyle and Celebi could sleep together on one themselves. Ian slept in between Charmander and Chikorita, and so did Leon in between Blaze and Manaphy. Everyone took off their held items, put them aside, then they said their good nights as they all went to sleep...except for the piplup, who remained awake while he stared at the night sky.

_Whoever you are,_ he thought, _thanks so much for bringing us all together. I couldn't be more happier than I am right now._

Leon had the widest smile on his beak than he ever had before, as he was the last pokémon to fall asleep.

He knew that the being higher than Dialga himself had indeed brought everyone closer than ever before.

* * *

**I'm sad to say that that's the conclusion of the entire Explorers of Sky story.**

**It's been an emotional, humorous, and action-packed ride for Team Poképals, including their friends.**

**I've really enjoyed writing this story and the other stories in the series, and I hope you enjoyed reading them all.**


End file.
